Head Coach Bob Carlson
Record at School/Years: 307-154-53 (.650)
Career Record: Same
Telephone: (507) 222-5840
Email: rcarlson@carleton.edu
The 2025 campaign marks Bob Carlson's 29th year at the helm of the Carleton men's soccer program. He has completed the trifecta by winning MIAC regular-season and playoff titles as each a player, assistant coach, and a head coach. Nine of those 12 trophies have come during his time guiding the Knights.
His 307 career victories rank him 12th among active NCAA Division III men's soccer coaches.
The Knights participated in the 2023 NCAA Championships, the sixth trip in program history. They advanced to the second round of the tournament after triumphing 4-1 in a shootout, which was required after the Knights and Pacific Lutheran battled to a scoreless draw after 90 minutes of regulation and two 10-minute overtime periods. During the season, Carleton soared to No. 4 in the national polls, the highest ranking in program history, and finished in the top-25.
Carlson has led his team to 16 consecutive postseason berths, extending the program's MIAC record. Over that span, he has guided the Knights to five MIAC regular-season titles (2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, and 2012) and six additional second-place finishes. Since the start of the 2007 campaign, his squads own a 205-75-35 record (.706).
His 2008 team captured the conference's post-season title as well as the program's first-ever trip to the NCAA Championships, where the Knights advanced to the "Sweet Sixteen." The Knights made back-to-back NCAA Championship appearances in 2012 and 2013, before returning to the national tournament in 2018, 2021, and again in 2023. Carlson was named MIAC Coach-of-the-Year five times (2007, 2008, 2012, 2018, 2023).
On Sept. 18, 2019, Carlson earned his 250th career win in a 3-0 victory over Bethel University. Carlson is tops in the MIAC and 16th among active D-III coaches in career victories. The Knights have posted 23 winning seasons under his direction. In comparison, Carleton posted only eight winning seasons in the 24 years prior to his arrival.
With an overall ledger of 295-149-50 during his first 27 years at the helm, Carlson ranks first all-time at Carleton in both career victories and winning percentage (.648) among coaches with more than one season at the school. His tenure has been marked by consistent play and strong finishes in the MIAC, perennially one of the strongest men's soccer conferences in all of NCAA Division III. For the past 26 years his team has also earned the United Soccer Coaches (formerly the NSCAA) Team Academic awards, including three years in which the Knights posted the highest team grade point average in all of NCAA Division I, II and III.
A 1986 graduate of St. Olaf College, Carlson was a standout player for the Oles as a team captain, all-conference selection, and four-year letter-winner. He helped St. Olaf capture the 1984 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) crown and an NCAA tournament bid, the first-ever for a MIAC institution. As a coach, Carlson returned to Minnesota in 1991 as an assistant at Gustavus Adolphus College. During his four-year tenure there, the Gusties won two conference championships and earned two NCAA tournament bids.
A native of Illinois, Carlson was an all-area soccer and basketball player at New Trier High School. He is married to Cathy Carlson, Associate Dean of Students at Carleton; the couple has a son, Sam, and a daughter, Emma.
Assistant Coach Joe Hartwell
Joe Hartwell joined the Knights prior to the 2011 season after previously spending five years as an assistant at his alma mater Gustavus Adolphus College. He was a NSCAA First-Team All-American central defender for the Gusties in 2004. Hartwell secured MIAC Player of the Year honors as he scored five goals and added two assists in addition to anchoring a defense that yielded just four goals in 23 games during that campaign. He was inducted into the Gustavus Athletics Hall of Fame in 2022. Hartwell has served as a club coach for nearly two decades and currently coaches at Minnesota Thunder Academy. He and his wife, Jessica, live in Rosemount, Minn.
Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator Trevor Jones
Trevor Jones '24 serves as recruiting coordinator for the Knights. A two-time All-MIAC defensive midfielder, he earned First-Team All-Region recognition in 2023. He collected a trio of Scholar All-American awards from the United Soccer Coaches and was voted Academic All-America in 2023. He received the prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship and is attending the University of Virginia School of Medicine.
Jones started 66 of a 67 possible games during his collegiate career, helping Carleton win 50 games and make NCAA Championships appearances in 2021 and 2023.
Assistant Coach Bryan Kim
Bryan Kim '20 started working with the Carleton goalkeepers during the 2021 season. His top highlight on the playing field came in the finals of the 2018 MIAC Playoffs. The Knights played Augsburg to a 1-1 draw, and Kim stopped a pair of shots as Carleton prevailed 4-3 in the shootout to advance to the NCAA Championships.
