LaDe’yah Forte’ enters her second season as an assistant coach with the UMBC Retrievers. Forte’ joined the staff in 2019 after spending two seasons with head coach Johnetta Hayes at Texas Southern.
In her first season with the Black and Gold, Forte’ worked with assistant coach TJ Royals with the guards. Forte’ helped senior Te’yJah Oliver to a spot on the America East All-Conference First Team - the first Retriever since Taylor McCarley earned the recognition in 2016-17. Royals, along with assistant coach Ladeyah Forte, saw Oliver finish the season ranked in the top five in the conference in scoring, three-point field goal percentage, free throw percentage, and field goal percentage.
In addition to Oliver, sophomore Paula Rubio finished the season ranked seventh in assists per game (3.2) and freshman Lyric Swann was seventh among AE freshmen in scoring with 8.4 points per game.
Prior to joining the staff at UMBC, Forte’ was an assistant coach with Hayes and Royals at Texas Southern University, where she helped to manage the daily operations of the team, as well as recruitment of student-athletes. Forte’ was also a part of the coaching staff that helped lead the Tigers to their first NCAA tournament appearance in 2017 after winning the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Regular Season and Tournament championships.
Along with Royals, Forte’ helped to guide the TSU defense, which was at the top of the SWAC in scoring defense, field goal percentage defense, and three-point field goal defense.
Before her appointment to assistant coach, Forte’ spent a season as the director of basketball operations at Texas Southern. In this position, Forte’ managed the daily operations of the team, as well as the recruitment of student-athletes and monitored the academic progress of student-athletes.
Forte’ received her Bachelors of Science in Social Science from Jacksonville University, where she played a season for the Dolphins’ women’s basketball team; prior to her time in Jacksonville, Forte 'played two seasons at Colorado State where she ranked fourth in the Mountain West as a freshman in assists per game (3.5). She played one year under Coach Hayes at Texas Southern, where she earned her MBA in May 2017.
