Mark Carlson Named USHL Coach of the Year
USHL United States Hockey League

Mark Carlson Named USHL Coach of the Year

Published on April 23, 2026 under United States Hockey League (USHL) News Release


Mark Carlson of the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders has been named United States Hockey League (USHL) Coach of the Year, the league announced Thursday.

All end-of-season league award winners were nominated and voted upon by team general managers.

In his 26th year behind the RoughRider bench, Carlson set the all-time wins record for a USHL coach en route to steering Cedar Rapids to a 36-17-3-6 (W-L-OTL-SOL) record and a .653 winning percentage. Despite playing the entire season without their captain and losing alternates to injuries down the final stretch, the RoughRiders tied for the fifth-most points in the USHL and had the league's third-highest-scoring offense, averaging 3.79 goals per game. Carlson's team allowed fewer shots per game than any team in the USHL (24.79). The RoughRiders had a 17-game point streak from Feb. 14 until the last weekend of the regular season, the longest point streak for any team in the league in three years. During the streak, Cedar Rapids went 15-0-1-1 to earn home-ice advantage for the first round of the Clark Cup Playoffs.

Recent winners of the USHL Coach of the Year include Rocky Russo (Lincoln Stars), Brett Skinner (Fargo Force), and Nick Oliver (Dubuque Fighting Saints). This marks Carlson's fourth USHL Coach of the Year award, previously winning in 2016, 2011, 2005, and 1999. He ties P.K. O'Handley for most wins of any coach in league history.

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