Curt Courtwright is in his eighth season as an assistant coach at the University of Illinois in 2026, working with the outfielders and serving as the first base coach. He was hired by head coach Dan Hartleb in August 2018.

Courtwright helped coach one of the best offenses in program history in 2024, as the Illini were simply dominant at the plate. Illinois crushed a program-record 104 home runs and were the only Big Ten team to hit more than 90 on the season. Illinois also led the conference in slugging and OPS and ranked in the top five in runs, hits, RBI, walks and on-base percentage. The Illini had a run of six-straight games with double-digit runs from March 24 - April 5, the lonest such streak in program history since 1895-96. Illinois also posted two games with at least 20 runs, the first such occurance since 2000. The high-powered offense helped lead the Illini to an outright Big Ten championship, their first since 2015, and the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearances since 2019.

Courtwright also oversaw the ascension of Justin Janas to becoming the Big Ten regular season batting champion in 2021. 

In his second season, Courtwright helped the Fighting Illini return to the NCAA Tournament in 2019 after finishing third in the Big Ten and owning two season series wins over ranked teams (Coastal Carolina, Indiana). Illinois was off to a hot start in 2020 with ranked wins over #13 Texas A&M and #23 Oklahoma State before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the season before the Illini could make a run at back-to-back NCAA Tournament berths. 

Courtwright also played a key role in the development of Michael Massey. Massey went No. 109 overall to become the highest drafted infielder ever for the program and made his MLB debut for the Kansas City Royals in 2022. 

Courtwright spent the previous three seasons (2016-18) at Eastern Illinois under head coach Jason Anderson, a former Fighting Illini and MLB pitcher. Courtwright helped instruct the infielders and hitters at EIU, helping the Panthers finish one double play shy of leading the nation in 2017.

Courtwright spent one year as an assistant at Rend Lake College in 2014, primarily working as the hitting and infield instructor as well as the recruiting coordinator, prior to his stop at EIU.

A native of Lincoln, Illinois, Courtwright competed at various levels of baseball. During his four-year career playing at Missouri State, Courtwright appeared in 158 games for the Bears and left as the school record holder for assists in a game. Courtwright played for the Glens Falls Golden Eagles in the New York Collegiate Baseball League and was named team MVP in 2008. In 2010, he played professionally for the Gateway Grizzlies of the Frontier League.

After his time with the Grizzlies, Courtwright began his coaching career. He was the head coach at Lincoln Community High School before serving as the hitting and infield coach for the Morehead City Marlins of the Coastal Plains League. 

Courtwright earned a bachelor’s degree in public relations with a minor in business from Missouri State in 2010.

Courtwright and his wife, Quincy, have a son, Creed.