Ten years after he stopped beating up Southern Oregon University as a player, Alex Carlson and the Raiders have officially made amends.
Carlson, a former Oregon Tech great and most recently the associate head women’s basketball coach at University of Alaska Anchorage, on Thursday was named SOU’s head women’s basketball coach, Athletic Director Matt Sayre announced.
He’s the 13th in program history and the first new one since 2005, taking over for Lynn Kennedy, who in April was tapped to lead Portland State.
Carlson, 32, is a native of Culver, Ore., and played collegiately as a forward at OIT from 2001-05, helping the Owls win an NAIA title in 2004. He still ranks third in rebounds and 10th in points on the school’s career lists.
“There’s a lot of excitement for my family and me to get an opportunity to come back to Oregon and work in an athletic department that’s No. 1 in the (NAIA Learfield Sports) Directors’ Cup,” Carlson said. “That’s exciting for a coach because it’s not just one program that has it going, it’s everyone, and I can’t wait to be a part of that.
“I just really want to thank everyone who was involved in the search process because they were so great to us, and seeing how a first-class group operates was very appealing,” he added.
Carlson has gained experience at a wide range of levels, first for two seasons as the head girls coach at Culver High after earning a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Oregon Tech. He then served for two seasons as a men’s basketball student assistant at Boise State, where he earned another bachelor’s degree in general education.
Following three seasons at Pacific University in Forest Grove – where he was the head men’s basketball assistant for the duration of his time and additionally the head women’s assistant for his last year – he arrived at Alaska Anchorage in 2013. He was the program’s lead assistant and recruiting coordinator the first year, helping UAA to a 19-9 record, and before last season was elevated to associate head coach. The Seawolves went 29-2, won the Great Northwest Athletic Conference title and held the No. 1 ranking at the NCAA Division II level the last four weeks of the season.
At SOU, Carlson will inherit a team that went 27-5, finished second in the Cascade Conference and won its first NAIA tournament game in 16 years.
“I just want to build on the success they’ve had,” Carlson said. “They’ve been doing things the right way under Coach Kennedy and had a lot of talented players. But the biggest guarantee I can make with a team I’m coaching is we’ll compete harder than anyone night after night. That’s something we can control and something fans can get behind.”
He said he’d like to maintain the up-tempo style Raider fans have grown accustomed to, noting UAA played at a similar pace and led the nation in steals.
“It’s an appealing style to play and it definitely attracts fans and recruits,” he said.
Last season’s Raider roster lost four seniors. All-CCC performers Ashley Claussen (Scotts Valley, Calif./Santa Cruz) and Carly Meister (Elma, Wash./Elma), both seniors-to-be, headline the group that will be back.
“The first step is to get to know returning players; it’s not like we’re starting from scratch,” Carlson said. “Then we’ll finish recruiting. I think we’re an impact player or two from being a very dominant team and having a chance to compete for a championship.”
Carlson and his wife, Courtney, have two sons: Jakob (5) and Michael (2).
“There were some outstanding candidates for this position, but Alex stood out,” Sayre said. “He has an impressive track record and a lot of energy, and we couldn’t be happier to welcome him into the department. The women’s basketball program is in great hands.”
