ALEXANDRIA – In front of his friends, family, and coaches, Alexandria senior Jack Carlson made his college destination known.
On Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2023, Carlson signed to play college soccer at Saint John’s University in Collegeville.
“It’s been kind of a dream school for me over my years of playing,” Carlson said. “So to be able to kind of do what I’ve always wanted to do is a really good thing.”
Saint John’s (NCAA DII), who is led by head coach John Haws, went 8-7-3 this past season and made it to the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference semifinals, where it was eliminated by Gustavus Adolphus (1-0).
Carlson said that his recruitment to the school really picked up in the late part of the last summer before the soccer season started.
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“John was at our preseason camp,” Carlson said. “And he pulled me aside and basically said, ‘Hey, there’s something special, and we’re going to work towards something; you should come down and visit.’ And things kind of just took off from there.”
Carlson said that he made his official visit to the school before the start of this soccer season started in early August.
“On my original visit, I really fell in love with the campus, with the way everything looks and the activities that they provide for you that are free of charge mostly,” Carlson said. “ I’ve been to the campus a couple of times and have kind of familiarized myself with it. Soccer-wise, coach John Haws really built a bridge, and the culture that he’s put together is really something special, and it’s something that I really want to be a part of.”
Since Carlson was really young, he’s loved playing soccer and had dreams of being a college student-athlete.
“It’s been a dream of mine since I started training by myself,” he said. “Since I started putting together goals for myself, it’s kind of one of the first things that came up on that list. I started playing soccer when I was three or four years old. Then the dream of playing college ball kind of started when I was like, 10 or 11 years old. It all just went up from there. I just fell in love with the game and the process of getting better. And making the next step is really special to me.”
Carlson has been a big part of the Alexandria boys soccer team in recent years and helped the team finish with a 9-6-3 record this season.
Carlson was named Alexandria’s midfielder of the year for the 2022 season at the team’s season-ending awards banquet and he made the Minnesota State High School Soccer Coaches Association’s Class AA All-State team. Carlson had a team-high eight goals this season, and he had three assists.
“It’s been incredible,” Carlson said of the support he’s had from those close to him. “If it wasn’t for Brandon Johnson (the Alexandria boys soccer head coach). I wouldn’t have been an all-state player this year. That’s a huge accomplishment that really helps push stuff forward. The support has just been incredible.”
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