Western Carolina University

Jeff Korte joined the Catamount baseball coaching staff as an assistant coach in July 2022. Korte (pronounced CORE-tee) will work with the catchers, infielders, and the overall offense, while also expected to head WCU’s recruiting efforts in his role.
 
Before coming to Cullowhee, Korte spent the two previous seasons between a pair of Sun Belt Conference members including the University of South Alabama as a graduate assistant in 2021 and as a volunteer assistant coach at Georgia Southern where he worked alongside Beck in 2022.
 
Korte was a part of the 2022 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.
 
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.