Phil Forte has been named assistant coach of the Saint Louis men’s basketball program, head coach Travis Ford announced today.
Forte spent two years at SLU as a graduate student manager from 2017-19. Most recently, he served two seasons as an assistant coach at Sam Houston State from 2019-21. Forte is coming to SLU from UTRGV, where he was hired as an assistant coach last month.
“We are very excited to have Phil back as a very important part of the Team Blue staff,” Ford said. “I have been fortunate to be around Phil for many years and I know of his great work ethic, his commitment to the players, and his commitment to the game. We’ve had a lot of success together – three straight NCAA Tournaments at Oklahoma State and another here at Saint Louis. Phil will be a great mentor to our players and will bring great energy and ideas to our staff.”
“It’s an honor to return to St. Louis and join the Team Blue family,” Forte said. “I’m grateful to Coach Ford and Chris May for this opportunity. I’m looking forward to hitting the ground running both in the gym and on the recruiting trail as we work toward more A-10 championships and NCAA Tournament appearances.”
Forte’s stint as a graduate student manager at SLU came after an illustrious career at Oklahoma State, where he was recruited by Ford and played three years for him. Forte scored 1,746 points (sixth in school history) and ended his career as the school-record holder with 329 3-pointers made.
As a senior at OSU in 2016-17, Forte averaged 13.3 ppg and led the NCAA in free-throw percentage (.955, 84-of-88). That mark is the fourth-best FT percentage in a single season in NCAA history.
A native of Flower Mound, Texas, Forte prepped at Marcus High School. He was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2012 Texas Class 5A state tournament, averaging 17 points in two contests. Forte scored a game-high 24 points in the championship game to help the Marauders win the state title.
