By Steve Krah
PBR Indiana Correspondent

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Brett Carlson, a redshirt senior at Purdue University, knows this to be true. His career has been a series of adjustments. 

Carlson, a South Bend Riley High School graduate, began his collegiate career at Austin Peay University in Clarksville, Tenn., then made the switch back to the Midwest and landed with the Boilermakers. 

Since coming to West Lafayette, lifelong infielder Carlson has learned to play the outfield while also making some changes to his approach in the batter’s box. 

Carlson, who is on schedule to graduate in May with a double major in accounting and finance, came out of a three-game weekend series against Ohio State (April 29, May 1) hitting .295 with nine doubles, two home runs, 14 runs batted in, 16 runs scored and 14 walks. His on-base percentage is .391. 

Over the previous 10 games, he was hitting a team-best .457 (16-of-36) with nine extra-base hits. He socked three doubles Sunday, April 24, at Maryland. 

The 23-year-old appeared in 37 of Purdue’s first 41 games with 27 starts. He began the season in left field.  

When freshman Jackson McGowan was hurt in March, Carlson came back to the infield. Of late, he has been batting in the No. 5 hole and starting at third base for coach Doug Schreiber’s Boilers. 

“Third base feels like home,” Carlson said. “When I came here, there was not enough room in the infield. I had never played the outfield my entire life — not even once. “I had taken all these ground balls in the infield, now I had to learn about keeping your head steady and trying to track a ball. I’m still working on that during batting practice.” 

Heading into the Ohio State series, Carlson was one of the Boilers’ hottest hitters in April (.364, 7 2B, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 10 R, 4 BB). 

Before ever playing for the Austin Peay Governors, Carlson was involved in a flip-over truck accident. Coming back from a trip to Chicago with a friend, the vehicle hit a patch of black ice. 

“Luckily no one was really hurt,” Carlson said. “My buddy’s face was tattered.” 

Carlson broke a bone in his hand, but played with it until the pain became too severe and he had surgery to remove the hamate bone in his wrist. 

When Carlson went to APU, he was a shortstop. The Governors had Reed Harper, now in the Atlanta Braves organization, ahead of him.  

Carlson was moved over to second base, where he was behind Team USA member Jordan Hankins, now in the Chicago Cubs system. At the end of of Carlson’s sophomore year, Hankins was moved to fill a hole at third base and Carlson was promoted to a starter at second base. 

He hit .364 (4-of-11) as a freshman in 2012 and .235 (20-of-85) as a sophomore in 2013. 

Carlson set out the first summer after his surgery. In 2013, he played for Alexandria (Va.) in the Cal Ripken League. He was with the 2014 Lima (Ohio) Locos in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League.  

The Governors won two Ohio Valley Conference championships with Carlson on the roster. 

But for financial reasons, Carlson opted to come back to Indiana and use a 21st Century Scholars grant for in-state tuition rather than rack up more college debt. 

He looked at going to Indiana University, but also remembered his relationship while in high school with Schreiber. Carlson wound up joining the old gold and black and becoming a Big Ten Conference ballplayer. 

“The Big Ten is definitely harder than what people make it out to be,” Carlson said. “When you think of college baseball, you think of the SEC, the ACC and the Pac-12, which have a lot of really good teams. People kind of neglect what the Big Ten has. It’s shown in the past couple years, especially with IU getting to the (2013) College World Series when (Kyle) Schwarber and (Sam) Travis were there. 

“With the Big Ten Network and more media coverage, we’re showing that the conference has a lot of good players that can make names for themselves.” 

In 2015, Carlson played 42 games for the Boilers and hit .235 (28-of-119). He attended summer classes and worked out at Purdue but did not play baseball. 

Carlson said he made an offensive adjustment this spring when the Boilers played Indiana.  

“I tried to stay a little more compact at the plate and make sure I was seeing the ball deep,” Carlson said. “I’m letting it travel and good things happen from there. 

“I’m just trying to see pitches that are in the (strike) zone that I can handle.” 

Carlson, who grew up as a batboy for the South Bend Silver Hawks (now South Bend Cubs), said one of his biggest adjustments from high school to college came at the plate. 

“At Riley, I could generally be a free swinger,” Carlson said. “You’re generally going to get a pitch over the middle portion of the plate and if you can see it, you can hit it. When you get to college, you have to know what you’re doing. (Pitchers) are working both sides of the plate. They pitch backwards, go in late, go up, change your eye level. 

“It was definitely an adjustment for me. I had to capitalize on pitches I can handle. Once you learn that mindset and it forms in your head, you keep practicing it.” 

Carlson said his coach at Riley — Dave Luczkowski — stressed hustling to his Wildcats and that’s the way it is with Schreiber and his Boilers. 

“Coach Schreiber wants us to sprint on and off the field,” Carlson said. “It shows effort and it shows hustle.” 

That fits Carlson just fine. 

“I never had that elite talent,” Carlson said. “I’ve had to work as hard as possible to be the best that I can be.” 

Carlson, who is scheduled to marry Alexandra Dodson in September, would like to play professional baseball. But if that doesn’t happen, he looks to make a living with his double major in accounting and finance. 

“It depends on a lot of variables,” Carlson said. “I’d love to keep playing. Who wouldn’t want to play the game for as long as they possible could?”