Carleton was born in Powder Springs, Georgia and at the youth level played for Georgia United.
Personal life
Carleton has two brothers named Alan and Johnny and two sisters named Erin and Erica. Alan plays for Atlanta United's youth team, Erin plays for Concorde Fire FC, and Johnny and Erica play for Southern Soccer Association.
Professional career
On June 9, 2016, Carleton signed with Major League Soccer side Atlanta United FC as a Homegrown Player. He spent the 2016 season on loan with United Soccer League side Charleston Battery. He made his first appearance on September 7, 2016 against FC Montreal. On September 10, 2016, Carleton became the youngest American professional player in history to start a USL match. On September 17, 2016, Carleton recorded his first professional assist for the Battery. On February 11, 2017, he made his debut for Atlanta United and scored during the second half of the team's first preseason game against Chattanooga FC. Carleton made his MLS debut on May 20, 2017 as an 85th minute substitution against Houston Dynamo. The 16-year-old was given a standing ovation at a sold outBobby Dodd Stadium. Andrew provided his first career assist in a 4–1 win against Vancouver on March 17, 2018. On April 21, 2018, while on loan to Atlanta United 2, Carleton scored his first professional goal, a penalty kick in a 1–1 draw against Louisville City FC. He scored his first goal with Atlanta United's first team on June 6, 2018 vs Charleston Battery in the US Open Cup. On January 24, 2020, Carleton was loaned to USL Championship side Indy Eleven for the 2020 season.
Discipline issues and distractions
In 2018, Carleton was among the rising stars within the Atlanta United First and Second teams. He had seen significant amounts of First team playing time and had been included in the starting 18 several times. However, on the eve of the MLS Cup Championship, it was later reported by local news media that Carleton had broken team curfew/rules and had posted photos of himself drinking with friends in an Atlanta bar. This prompted disciplinary action by Manager Tata Martino in which Carleton was banned from dressing for the game and was apparently not allowed to participate in the celebration parade the following week. In early 2019, during the beginning months of the era of the new first team manager, Dutchman, Frank de Boer, there were some hints of dissatisfaction expressed in multiple statements to the media made by de Boer regarding Carleton's lack of maturity and professionalism. In reference to Carleton, DeBoer stated that " is still young and he has to learn from that. And we spoke about that. He still has to grow up as a man." De Boer expressed that in his opinion Carleton had the talent to succeed, but that being a professional requires discipline both on and off the pitch. De Boer has also suggested that Carleton needs to grow more in physical strength and should engage in a more substantial weight training and nutrition program. On June 26, 2019 Atlanta United was one man short on the bench for an away match against Toronto FC due to Carleton forgetting his passport when the team met for the trip to Canada. Two days later Manager Frank de Boer had announced Andrew would be playing with the second team as punishment until he showed improvements in his professionalism. "He's joining the USL team right now... I have no worries about his quality, but more the professional side." - On August 6, 2019 Carleton entered the US Open Cup Semi-final vs Orlando City in the 48th minute replacing Ezequiel Barco. This was Carleton's first match action with Atlanta United since the lost passport incident in late June. Carleton finished out the match in which Atlanta United won 2-0 over Orlando, advancing to the US Open Cup Final for the first time in club history. After the match it was reported that manager Frank de Boer stated that Carleton earned the minutes with his recent good play with Atlanta United 2 and his work ethic in training.
