App State Volleyball head coach Chad Sutton announced the hiring of Ed Tolentino as the program's associate head coach on May 1, 2025. 

"I'm excited to start this new chapter of my coaching career and use my experience to help continue the rise of this program," Tolentino said. "I share the same vision and goals as Coach Sutton, and I look forward to coming to Boone."

Tolentino comes to Boone after leading Xavier's volleyball program as the associate head coach. He had served as Xavier's associate head coach since 2017 and was an assistant coach for the Musketeers for the 2016 season. Last season, the Musketeers recorded four sweeps and a pair of five-set victories. Xavier also had its first Big East Co-Freshman of the Year in four seasons in Margo Kemp, who recorded a hitting percentage of .345 and appeared in all 28 of Xavier's matches during the 2024 campaign. 
 
In 2023, the Musketeers went 18-12, placing fourth in the Big East regular season standings and appearing for a second consecutive year in the conference tournament. Xavier also notched its first program victory against No. 11 Creighton, a Big East rival, marking its first ranked win since 2007. Tolentino also mentored four-time Big East honoree Carrigan O'Reilly. O'Reilly was the second Musketeer to eclipse 4,000 assists and 1,000 digs in addition to tallying six career triple-doubles and 47 career double-doubles. Tolentino was a member of the staff that won the 2022 Big East Coaching Staff of the Year award after helping guide Xavier to a 21-12 record, a third-place finish in the Big East regular season standings and an appearance in the NIVC Quarterfinals. Across his nine seasons in Cincinnati, Tolentino guided eight athletes to All-Big East honors, two athletes to AVCA All-Region First-Team accolades and one athlete (Abbey Bessler) to an AVCA All-America accolade.
 
Tolentino has been a collegiate volleyball coach since 1997, and his coaching journey has included stops at UConn, Morehead State, Georgia Tech, Michigan, Michigan State, Eastern Michigan, Madonna (Mich.), and Oakland. 
 
In 2015, Tolentino assisted UConn to a 16-15 (10-10 AAC) record and two All-AAC honorees. 
 
For two seasons, Tolentino was on the coaching staff for Morehead State, where he helped guide the Eagles to their fourth consecutive Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) title and second NCAA Tournament appearance. 
 
From 2009-12, he was an assistant coach at Georgia Tech. He assisted Georgia Tech to 72 wins as well as an appearance in the 2009 NCAA Tournament. Individually, he guided three athletes to AVCA All-America accolades. 
 
Tolentino has also coached at the club level with the Premier Volleyball Academy in Maumee, Ohio, and M-Juniors in Ann Arbor, Mich. 
 
Tolentino is a member of the American Volleyball Coaches Association and National Athletic Trainers Association. Before becoming a volleyball coach, he was a minor league trainer for the Detroit Tigers Organization. 
 
He earned a bachelor's degree from Detroit Mercy in 1997. During his collegiate playing career, he was a setter and defensive specialist at Macomb College before studying at Detroit Mercy.