Northborough, Mass. – Maryville University women's lacrosse head coach Melissa Gyllenborg and assistant coach Carly Shisler were voted the 2026 Midwest Regional Coaching Staff of the Year as announced by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association. The IWLCA Coaching Staff of the Year Award honors one National and multiple Regional Coaching Staffs of the Year from each NCAA Division and a National Coaching Staff of the Year from the NAIA. This is the second time the Maryville staff has been honored. Gyllenborg and Shisler earned the award following the 2023 season.

Gyllenborg and Shisler led the Saints to the deepest NCAA Tournament run in program history. Maryville finished as national runner up as the Saints reached the DII championship game for the first time in its eight-year history. The Saints started their NCAA Tournament run with a win over No. 24 Rockhurst. Maryville upset No. 3 Indianapolis 11-10 on the road to claim its first Midwest Regional title. At the National Semifinals, the Saints took down No. 2 seed East Stroudsburg to reach the NCAA DII title game before falling to top-seed Florida Southern 9-7. The Saints finished ranked No. 2 in the final IWLCA poll, the team's highest ranking in program history.
 
Gyllenborg and Shisler coached three Saints to IWLCA All-American honors – Paige Murphy was a first-team selection, while Helen Bae and Dorothy Fife were second-team All-Americans. Murphy led the nation in scoring with 113 goals, while Bae finished her career as Maryville's all-time leader in goals (262), assists (110) and points (372) as well as draw controls (377). Fife led a defense that ranked 16th in the nation in scoring defense and had 40 ground balls and 29 caused turnovers. The coaching staff directed the No. 8 scoring offense in the nation at 16.27 goals per game and the No. 8 scoring margin team at +7.68.
 
Gyllenborg and Shisler will be honored at the 2026 IWLCA Convention which is set to take place this November in St. Pete Beach, Fla.