Meet the Founders
Two college head coaches who built Carolina Advantage to give athletes the development they deserve — and the coaching model to back it up.
Emma Celentano
Emma spent 5 seasons as head coach at the University of Mount Olive, where she inherited a team with 8 consecutive losing seasons and immediately turned them into a winning program — capped off with three consecutive 20+ win seasons.
She was awarded AVCA 30 Under 30 recognition in 2024 and Conference Carolinas Coach of the Year in 2023 after leading UMO to a 14-3 conference record and a #6 regional ranking. Under her leadership, the program produced its first AVCA All-American since 2007 and its first Freshman of the Year since 2003.
After her time at Mount Olive, Emma stepped into an assistant coaching role at Shaw University to focus full-time on building Carolina Advantage and the Director of Training model that drives the club. She holds a B.S. in Exercise and Sport Science from UNC and a Master's in Physical Education from NC Central.
Jonathan Paulk (JP)
JP comes to NC Central after 5 seasons as head coach at Shaw University, where he compiled the highest win percentage in CIAA volleyball history at 119-35 (78-5 in conference). He led Shaw to back-to-back conference tournament titles, four consecutive regular season championships, and the 2024 USCAA National Championship.
In 2023, Shaw became the first CIAA team to win a round in the NCAA Tournament with a dramatic reverse sweep, and JP was named the first-ever CIAA coach to earn AVCA Atlantic Region Coach of the Year. His teams led the nation in aces per set for three straight seasons.
JP played at NC State, won the NCSVA Collegiate Beach National Championship in 2016, and is a true believer in pushing athletes to learn higher-level technique and tactics at younger ages.
