Staff Directory
- Title:
- Director of Basketball Operations
- Email:
Nola Carter joined head coach Jessica Mannetti’s staff prior to the 2025-26 season as the director of Basketball Operations for the Sacred Heart women’s basketball team.
Carter comes to Fairfield after spending the last four years as an assistant coach at Saint Leo University. With the Lions, Carter aided numerous players reach career milestones and helped guide the program make the Sunshine State Conference Championship Tournament twice. She was nominated for Coach of the Year among Saint Leo athletes and staff in 2023-24.
While coaching with the Lions, she earned an MBA in Sport Business and assisted in a mentorship program - Relationships, Athletics, Academics, & Wellness - where she helped teach high schoolers about what the college life really looks like as an athlete & non athlete.
Before joining the coaching ranks, Carter enjoyed an outstanding collegiate career as a four-year player at Division II Fort Valley State, finishing her career with 1,084 points and was named Second Team All-Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference as a senior. Carter is a natural fit for coaching, as she was a four-time captain with the Wildcats.
Carter graduated from Fort Valley State with a Biology (Health Sciences) degree, while minoring in Nuclear Engineering.
Prior to college, the Jacksonville, Fla., native owned an esteemed high school career at Jean Ribault High School in Jacksonville, Fla., where she won three state championships and one national championship. She was chosen as the Most Improved Player at the Dick’s National Championship and was a three-year captain.
Carter is very close with her family, the daughter of mom Pamelia Bailey and fathers Gary Carter and Charles Showers. With siblings Naya, Shun, Kendall, Collin and Charnise.
