In his first season at the helm of the freshman team in 2002, Carlson led the Bears heavyweight freshman eight to a second place finish in the Grand Finale race at the Eastern Sprints.

A 1999 graduate of Princeton University, Carlson assists Head Coach Paul Cooke in all phases of running the Bears' national championship program.

Carlson was a successful collegiate rower during his four years at Princeton, having won the Eastern Sprints in the varsity 8 in 1997 and 1999, and the IRA as part of the freshman eight in 1996 and again as part of the junior varsity eight in 1998.

During his time at Princeton, Carlsont also trained with the United States under-23 team, placing second at the under-23 world championships in the heavyweight men's eight in both 1997 and 1998.

After graduating from Princeton with a history major in 1999, he went on to coach the Rutgers University freshmen for two years, turning in an overall13-3 record and two 5th-place finishes at Eastern Sprints.

A native of Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, Carlson now lives in East Providence with his wife Eli.