Cortland women's golf head coach Kalin Merkley has been named the 2025-26 Northeast Women's Golf Conference (NWGC) Coach of the Year. She earned the award for the second straight season.
 
Merkley led the Red Dragons to the team title for the second straight year at the NWGC Championship this past April. Cortland finished 27 strokes ahead of runner-up St. John Fisher, pulling away over the final 18 holes of the 36-hole championship after trailing by one stroke through 18 holes. Cortland earned the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Championships, which were held in mid-May.
 
Cortland also finished second out of 10 teams at its own Martin/Wallace Invitational in early April, and the Red Dragons placed third at both the St. Lawrence and Union Invitationals in the fall.
 
A Cortland alumna and former player, Merkley completed her second year as head coach in 2025-26. She was the program's assistant coach in both 2022-23 and 2023-24 and previously served as a volunteer assistant in 2013-14.