Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina head baseball coach Alan Beck is starting to fill his inaugural coaching staff since returning to his alma mater, today officially announcing the addition of Jeff Korte as an assistant coach. Korte is expected to head WCU’s recruiting efforts in his role on Beck’s staff.
Korte (pronounced CORE-tee) spent the past two seasons between a pair of Sun Belt Conference members including the University of South Alabama as a graduate assistant in 2021 and the past year as a volunteer assistant coach at Georgia Southern where he worked alongside Beck.
Last season, Korte was a part of the Georgia Southern staff that guided the Eagles to a 41-win season and was one of 16 teams nationally to host an NCAA regional – a first for GSU which returned to the NCAA postseason for the first time since 2014 as a member of the Southern Conference.
“I couldn’t be more excited to bring Jeff Korte into the Catamount family,” said Beck. “Jeff is a person of high character that embodies what Western Carolina is all about. He’s a great baseball mind and he will make an immediate impact on our team working directly with our catchers, infielders, and our offense.”
Prior to joining the Eagles staff, Korte was a graduate assistant at South Alabama, focusing on the development of the catchers during the Jaguars’ run through the NCAA Gainesville Regional. South Alabama, which claimed both the regular-season and tournament championship in the Sun Belt Conference in 2021, rallied back from dropping its regional opener to advance to the winner-take-all finale, bouncing No. 15 Florida and Miami (Fla.) from the field in the process.
Korte began his collegiate coaching career as an assistant coach at Florida Tech located in Melbourne, Fla., before accepting the graduate assistant position at South Alabama. His experience also includes three summers coaching in the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League.
Originally from Melbourne, Fla., Korte played collegiately at both Eastern Florida State College and the University of Illinois. He batted .343 in junior college before transferring to Champaign where he started 78 of the 86 games he appeared in behind the plate for the Big Ten Conference member. He posted a .248 average and hit six home runs in his two seasons with the Fighting Illini, while driving in 49 RBIs. In his two years at Illinois, Korte posted a .993 fielding percentage and threw out 21 baserunners attempting to steal. He was a part of the 2019 Illinois squad that earned a #2 seed in the NCAA Oxford Regional.
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