Associate Head Coach Cullen Carstens

Cullen Carstens, a high-energy leader with 13 years of collegiate coaching experience, returned to Manhattan on December 6, 2022, to serve as Kansas State’s associate head coach.

In his first semester back with the Wildcats, Carstens helped K-State earn five top-five finishes in eight events, including a victory at The Johnnie-O where Tim Tillmanns won the individual title and tied the school record with a 54-hole score of 198. The Wildcats earned their second-straight NCAA Regional berth and narrowly missed out on their first-ever NCAA Championship appearance as they battled for the final two qualifying spots with Texas and Florida, the latter of which went on to win the National Championship.

Carstens originally came to Manhattan to serve as Grant Robbins’ first assistant coach at K-State from 2014 to 2017 before earning the opportunity to lead his own program as he was the head coach at North Alabama from 2017 to 2021. Carstens oversaw North Alabama’s transition from Division II to Division I, and he led the Lions to their first Division I team championship in 2019, before winning another during the 2021 fall season.

While an assistant at Kansas State, Carstens helped lay the foundation for the Robbins era as tutored three Wildcats that still rank in the top 10 in the school’s career stroke average list in addition to guiding Matt Green earn an individual bid to the 2015 NCAA San Diego Regional.

Prior to arriving in Manhattan, Carstens spent two seasons as an assistant coach for both the men's and women's programs at Jacksonville State. He also previously worked in the Big 12 as a volunteer assistant coach at Oklahoma State from 2009 to 2011, traveling with both the men's and women's teams to numerous events as well as helping with recruiting efforts and developing various practice drills and competitions to help player development for both programs.

Between stints at JSU and OSU, Carstens gained professional experience as he was a caddy for Peter Uihlein on the European Professional Golf Association and European Challenge Professional Golf tours. In addition, Carstens caddied at the three PGA TOUR events – the 2011 Transitions Championships, 2011 AT&T National and 2012 Puerto Rico Open.

A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Carstens played collegiately for his father, Randy, at Missouri Baptist University. He was named an NAIA National Scholar Athlete in 2006 and 2007 in addition to being a first-team All-American Midwest Conference selection in 2004 and 2007. He also earned First Team All-NAIA Region V honors in 2004 after claiming medalist honors at the regional tournament.

Carstens graduated from MBU with a Bachelor's of Marketing/Business Administration in 2007. Following graduation, he worked as an operations intern with the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) as he coordinated and directed 10 national junior golf tournaments across the nation and was in charge of volunteers at events and served as a rules official during those tournaments.

Carstens is married to the former Kelsey Vines.