Carey attended Stanford University, where he swam for the Stanford Cardinal swimming and diving team in National Collegiate Athletic Association (National Collegiate Athletic Association) and Pacific-10 Conference competition from 1992 to 1995.
He graduated from Stanford with a bachelor"s degree in 1995, and a master"s degree in 1996. Carey represented the United States at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. He competed in the preliminary heats of the men"s 200-meter butterfly event, and posted a time of 2:01.10, finishing twenty-first overall.
