Phil Forte - Men's Basketball Coach - University of North Texas Athletics

Phil Forte

Title:
Assistant Coach
Email:
Phil.Forte@unt.edu
Phone:
940-565-3654
Alma Mater:
Oklahoma State

Phil Forte joined the North Texas men's basketball coaching staff on April 17, 2023 to be on head coach Ross Hodge's first staff. Forte, who grew up less than 15 miles from the UNT campus and was a high school state champion at Marcus HS and a all-conference guard at Oklahoma State, enters the 2024-25 season with seven years of D1 coaching experience.

In Forte's first season on the Mean Green staff UNT won 19 total games and reached the second round of the National Invitation Tournament. North Texas posted a 10-8 league record In what was its first season in the American Athletic Conference. The 10 league wins and .555 league winning percentage were both the best by a first-year UNT men's basketball staff. Forte who recruited some of the Mean Green's top performers helped mentor guard Jason Edwards to first-team all-conference honors as he scored 650 total points, which was the fifth-most in a single season in program history.

UNT in 2023-24 overcame significant injuries to three starters and had notable wins over LSU, Memphis, Northern Iowa and SMU. The Mean Green featured the league's best and the nation's No. 12 scoring defense as they held opponents to 63.8 points per game. Offensively, North Texas led the league in 3-point shooting as they shot 37.7 percent from deep. It was the nation's 14th best 3-point field goal percentage.

The Mean Green earned an at-large bid to the 2024 NIT where they defeated LSU on the road, 84-77, in the first round. UNT was the only team in the NCAA Tournament or NIT led by a head coach in his first season as a NCAA head coach.

Forte, a Flower Mound, Texas, native and one of Oklahoma State’s all-time greats, he joined North Texas after two seasons at Saint Louis as an assistant coach where he helped lead the Billikens to back-to-back 20-win seasons and a combined 44-24 record. SLU reached the semifinals of the 2022 A-10 Tournament and earned an NIT bid that year as well. Saint Louis’ 23 wins that year was tied for its most single-season win total since 2013-14.

Prior to his two seasons at SLU, Forte was an assistant coach at Sam Houston under Jason Hooten. The Bearkats went 37-22 in Forte’s two seasons there.

During his time as a full-time coach, Forte has helped five different players to eight all-conference honors, including 2021 Southland Conference Player of the Year Zach Nutall at Sam Houston and back-to-back A-10 First Team All-Conference honoree Yuri Collins at Saint Louis.

Forte played his college ball at Oklahoma State from 2012-17. He is one of the Cowboys’ most accomplished guards in program history. He led OSU to four NCAA Tournament appearances. He made an OSU record 329 3-pointers and scored 1,792 career points, which ranked six in school history at the time of his graduation.

Forte graduated from nearby Marcus High School in Flower Mound in 2012 and was a two-time state champ. He was the Most Valuable Player of the 2012 Texas Class 5A State Tournament after scoring a game-high 24 points in the championship game. He was first-team All-State that year as well.

Phil Forte Coaching History
2023-present: North Texas, Assistant Coach
2021-23: Saint Louis, Assistant Coach
2019-21: Sam Houston, Assistant Coach
2017-19: Saint Louis, Graduate Assistant