Karl Huhta enters his second year as a member of the Cougar rowing coaching staff and his first year as the novice coach. Formerly an intern coach at Washington State from 2008-10, Huhta returned to Pullman last season after a four-year absence.
In 2014-15, Huhta was named the Cougar rowing Coordinator of Operations. WSU rowing placed eighth in the NCAA tournament, matching its second-best finish in school history and best since 2008. The team finished third overall in PAC-12 competition and the coaching staff was named the CRCA West Regional Staff of the Year.
In 2013-14, Huhta was a volunteer assistant women’s rowing coach at California. The Golden Bears were tabbed as the No. 1 team in the CRCA/USRowing Coaches Poll twice in April and went on to place second at the 2014 NCAA Rowing Championships in Indianapolis, Ind.
Prior to his time at California, Huhta spent three seasons as a graduate assistant with the Central Florida women’s rowing team, while completing his master's degree in sport and fitness, with an emphasis in sport leadership and coaching.
While at UCF, Huhta spent two spring seasons coaching the varsity four boats, and one spring season coaching the novice eight crews. He was also the lead recruiter during his final two seasons at UCF.
As an intern coach at WSU, Huhta was a member of the staff that helped lead the Cougars to a 13th-place finish at the 2010 NCAA Rowing Championships at Gold River, Calif.
Huhta was also an assistant coach at the U.S. Rowing National Men's Pre-Elite Camp during the summer of 2011. The camp was held at the Oklahoma City National High Performance Center on the Oklahoma River in Oklahoma City, Okla. The camp develops athletes for the U.S. under-23 and senior national teams.
Huhta was a four-year member of the Washington State men’s club rowing team from 2004-08. He was elected team commodore his senior year and was named to the 2008 All-Pacific 10 Conference Team. Huhta rowed with the varsity four crew that won the 2008 Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association (WIRA) Conference Championships, took silver at the 2008 Pacific Coast Rowing Championships (PCRCs) and competed in the 2008 Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) National Championships. Huhta also rowed with the third-place varsity eight crew at the 2006 WIRA Championships.
Huhta earned his bachelor's degree in sport management with minors in business administration and history from Washington State in 2009, before earning his USRowing Level III Coaching Certification in December 2010.
