University of Maine at Farmington alumnus and longtime men’s basketball assistant Nate Carson will join the UMaine-Farmington women’s basketball program as the interim head coach for the 2021-22 season.
“We are thrilled Nate Carson has accepted this new role within UMaine-Farmington athletics as our head women’s basketball coach,” said Jamie Beaudoin, UMaine-Farmington’s interim director of athletics. “He is a proud UMF alumnus, has a strong familiarity with our program, and has great knowledge of the game of basketball. He and the team are excited about the start of the season and the beginning of the pursuit for the North Atlantic Conference Championship.”
Carson has been an assistant coach for the UMaine-Farmington men’s basketball program since the 2014-15 season, apprenticing under legendary coach Dick Meader. His role with the men’s program included on-court player and team development, student-athlete recruitment, and assisting with administrative duties ranging from coordinating team travel to working with alumni outreach.
“I am excited for the opportunity to help the UMaine-Farmington women’s basketball program continue to grow,” said Carson. “The team has been responsive and enthusiastic in our first week, setting a great foundation moving forward.”
Carson was a four-year letterwinner and three-year starter for UMaine-Farmington men’s basketball from 2010 to 2014. He finished his career with 536 points, and continues to rank among the program’s career leaders in free-throw percentage (.776) and three-point field goal shooting percentage (.365). He was a member of the Beavers’ 2014 squad that reached the title game of that season’s North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Men’s Basketball Championship.
A 2014 graduate from UMaine-Farmington with a Bachelor of Science in community health, Carson has worked with Western Maine Behavioral Health in Wilton, Maine, since 2018, and previously served as a behavioral health professional with Regional School Unit #9 at Mt. Blue High School in Farmington.
Carson will inherit a UMaine-Farmington women’s basketball team that returns all five starters from its 2019-20 squad that finished the season with a 14-14 record and reached the NAC Women’s Basketball Championship. The list of returnees is headlined by First Team All-NAC forward McKenna Brodeur (13.3 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 2.1 apg) and Second Team All-NAC guard Alex Bessey (12.8 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.0 apg).
UMaine-Farmington’s 2021-22 regular season opens on Saturday, Nov. 13, when the Beavers face Castleton University in the opening game of the Castleton Spartan Classic. UMaine-Farmington’s day two match-up in the tournament on Sunday, Nov. 14, will pit the Beavers against New England College.
https://athletics.umf.maine.edu/sports/wbkb/2021-22/releases/20211026k97for
