Georgia Highlands College Names Jennie Belarmino Head Volleyball Coach

 Georgia Highlands College has announced the hiring of Jennie Belarmino as Head Volleyball Coach, effective January 2026.

“I am thrilled to welcome Jennie Belarmino as the leader of our women’s volleyball program.” Director of Athletics Dr. Nicole Levering said. “I look forward to watching her elevate the program and support our student‑athletes as they grow not only as competitors, but as exceptional students and young women.”

 Coach Belarmino added, “I am extremely excited and grateful for the opportunity to join Georgia Highlands College. I would like to thank Dr. Levering and the search committee for their trust and for the opportunity to lead the volleyball program. I am looking forward to working with our student-athletes and supporting their success both on and off the court. Go Chargers!”

Belarmino brings extensive collegiate and club coaching experience to GHC. Most recently, she worked with the Gulf Coast Region Volleyball Association and served as a head coach with Lower Alabama Volleyball Club. Prior to those roles, Belarmino was the head volleyball coach at Pensacola State College from 2018 to 2021. During her tenure at PSC, she coached multiple All-Panhandle Conference selections, and each of her teams earned a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.

Before Pensacola State, Belarmino spent three seasons as head coach at Lake-Sumter State College in Leesburg, Florida. At LSSC, she recruited and developed a Mid-Florida Conference All-Conference player, an NJCAA Academic All-American, eight Mid-Florida Conference All-Academic honorees, and three All-State selections. Her teams consistently demonstrated academic excellence, maintaining a GPA of 3.0 or above each season.

Belarmino began her collegiate head coaching career at West Virginia University Institute of Technology, where she led the program for two seasons. In 2011, she guided the team to the most wins in a single season in school history.

Following her graduation from Ball State University, Belarmino worked as a fundraiser for several nonprofit organizations, including the American Heart Association and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. In those roles, she was a top-performing fundraiser, raising more than $800,000. She later transitioned into collegiate coaching, beginning as an assistant volleyball coach at Middle Tennessee State University before serving as an assistant coach at the University of South Alabama in Mobile. She then accepted her first head coaching position at WVU Tech.

As a student-athlete, Belarmino (formerly Jennie Cook) began her playing career at the University of Illinois, where she competed as a right-side hitter during the 1994 and 1995 seasons. She helped lead the Illini to a Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA National Tournament, with the program earning a top-10 national ranking. She completed her collegiate playing career at Ball State University, where she was named All-Mid-American Conference in both the 1996 and 1997 seasons.

Jennie and her husband, Brian, have three children: Alexis, Brady, and Brooke.