Carrie Cook-Callen

Bio

Carrie Cook-Callen became the second head coach in Kansas rowing history after being named the head coach in June of 2017 following the retirement of Rob Catloth.

A former KU rower, Cook-Callen enters her seventh season as a member of the KU rowing coaching staff. A Kansas graduate who helped coach the University of Iowa into the top-20, was named an assistant coach for the Jayhawks’ rowing program on June 29, 2012.

The 2020-21 Jayhawks returned to the waters of competition after 677 day layoff due to the pandemic. The Second Varsity Eight earned the first weekly honor of the season after being named Boat of the Week on April 1, after besting the Sooners with a time of 7:09.34. The First Varsity Eight followed suite a week later being named the Co-Boat of the Week on April 7, after braving tough water conditions at the Sunshine State Invite taking third-place at 7:46.45. After hosting the annual Sunflower Showdown, the trophy returned home as the Jayhawks took both Varsity Eights to claim the victory on May 1. As a team Kansas tallied 20-plus top-5 finishes through six regattas. Cook-Callen coached Laurel Salisbury to All Big 12 Rowing Team honors, named after the conclusion of the Big 12 Championship. Academically, the Jayhawks placed a total of 25 student-athletes on the 2021 Academic All-Big 12 Rowing Team, as announced by the conference office on Thursday. A total of seven Jayhawks earned 4.0 GPAs – Kai Alexander, Danielle Brunig, Katie Donnellan, Lauren Fee, Julia Isbell, Jenna Lenherr and Emma Yowell. Additionally, 13 student-athletes earned Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) National Scholar Athlete honors, the most the program has had in a single season. Junior Danica Pecana received the 2021 Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award by the Big 12, the conference’s highest academic honor, back on March 3, 2021 along with 17 other KU honorees.

Although the 2019-20 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Jayhawks stayed committed on the water and off. There were a total of 11 student-athletes to earn Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) National Scholar Athlete honors.

The 2018-19 First Varsity Eight was the quickest boat for the Kansas fleet posting finishes of 6:25.70 and 6:21.70. The Jayhawks notched nine second-place finishes adding a pair of gold times against Kansas State and at the Mason Invitational.

The 2017-18 season was filled with numerous top-5 finishes excluding one sixth-place mark at the Big 12 Championships in the First Varsity Eight. The Jayhawks swept the Dual vs. Creighton posting only first-place finishes throughout the March 25 regatta.

In the 2016-17 season, Cook-Callen assisted in coaching Kansas’ varsity four rowers. Cook-Callen led the First Varsity Four and Second Varsity Four to fifth-place finishes at the Big 12 Championship.

Throughout the 2015-16 season, Cook-Callen coached Kansas’ First Varsity Four and Second Varsity Four to third-place finishes at the Big 12 Championship. The Second Varsity Four also earned Big 12 Boat of the Week honors, after going undefeated at the Knecht Cup.

With her guidance in 2014-15, the Jayhawks had a great showing setting up the First Varsity Eight to win the Sunflower Showdown with a Second Varsity Four win. The First Varsity Four and Second Varsity Four swept the competition at the Cardinal Invite, while they took third and fourth, respectfully, at the Big 12 Championship.

The 2013-14 season saw the varsity Jayhawk rowers claim nine first-place finishes. The First Varsity Four took first place in the Louisville Invite, Lake Natoma Invite, Big 12 Championship and the Sunflower Showdown.

Cook-Callen served as the graduate assistant and varsity assistant coach for the Iowa Hawkeyes’ rowing team from August 2006 to June 2012. She spent the first five years as a varsity assistant coach in which she assisted with recruiting, budgeting and coaching 15-20 second-tier athletes to compete as one of the nation’s top-25. Fittingly, Cook-Callen was an Assistant Coach of the Year nominee for the 2011-12 season at Iowa.

In 2011-12, her last year with the Hawkeyes, Cook-Callen was the graduate assistant as she decided to pursue a Master of Business Administration, which she completed in 2014 at Kansas.

A 2006 KU graduate with a degree in business administration, Cook-Callen was a member of the Jayhawk rowing team from 2002-04 and earned Jayhawk Scholar Student-Athlete honors during her career. She then spent two years (2004-06) as a team manager for the KU rowing team.

Fresh out of college, Cook-Callen spent the summer of 2006 at the Kansas City Rowing Club where she coached “Learn-to-Row” Clinics and junior and high school camps. The Garden City, Kansas, native also spent the summer of 2010 coaching at the US Rowing Freshman Camp.