Marie-Josee (M.J.) Desbiens Shaw has served as the head coach of the Arkansas State women's golf program since the 2010–11 season, making her the longest-tenured coach in school history. Under her leadership, the Red Wolves have achieved 17 tournament championships and 43 top-three finishes, marking her as the most successful coach in program history.
Desbiens Shaw has coached eight All-Sun Belt selections, including Olivia Schmidt, a three-time honoree, the 2021–22 Sun Belt Conference Golfer of the Year, and the school-record holder for a career low round of 65 (-7) at the 2020–21 USA Intercollegiate. Other All-Sun Belt selections under her leadership include Anna Carling, who in 2011 became the second A-State women’s golfer to win individual medalist honors at the conference championship, and Aracelly Jimenez Rios, the 2016 Sun Belt Freshman of the Year.
Her teams have consistently set and broken program records. The 2023–24 squad posted a school-record season stroke average of 294.42, surpassing the previous mark of 296.52 set in 2019–20, and participated in the postseason for the first time in program history at the National Golf Invitational in 2024. The 2024–25 team followed with a 298.59 average, the sixth-lowest in school history, and recorded the lowest 36-hole team total in program history with a 564 (-10) at the Maverick Classic, highlighted by Ashley Kim’s career-low 66 (-6), one of the lowest individual rounds in school history.
Under Desbiens Shaw's guidance, Arkansas State has recorded multiple strong finishes at its home tournament, the Lady Red Wolves Classic, winning in 2019 and 2023. The 2023 title marked the program's first home victory in four years and was the 15th tournament win of her tenure.
Academic excellence has been a hallmark of Desbiens Shaw’s tenure at Arkansas State. Her student-athletes have earned 67 All-America Scholar honors, including a school-record seven selections in 2016–17. The program has received NCAA Public Recognition Awards for achieving a perfect multi-year Academic Progress Rate (APR) for 11 consecutive years, ranking in the top 10 percent nationally among women’s golf programs.
A member of the LPGA Teaching Division from 1995–2006, Desbiens Shaw joined Arkansas State after serving as head women's golf coach at Oklahoma City University. At OCU, she led the Stars to back-to-back NAIA national championships in 2008 and 2009, a national runner-up finish, and three Sooner Athletic Conference titles. She was named NAIA Coach of the Year following both championship seasons and SAC Coach of the Year in 2009. Prior to her tenure at Oklahoma City, Desbiens Shaw spent 10 years as associate head coach at the University of Oklahoma.
During her time at OCU, she directed the team to 17 tournament victories in 30 starts, coaching one NAIA individual champion, eight first-team All-Americans, four honorable-mention All-Americans, the NAIA Region VI champion, three SAC individual champions, four all-region players, 10 all-conference performers, and three NAIA scholar-athlete award winners. At Oklahoma, she helped guide the Sooners to a sixth-place finish at the 2002 NCAA Championships and coached nine All-Big 12 golfers, 38 academic all-Big 12 honorees, and 20 All-American scholars.
A native of Quebec City, Canada, Desbiens Shaw earned her Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Oklahoma, where she was a four-year letterwinner and captain of the women's golf team. She was also a member of the Canadian national team from 1990–94 and won the 1990 Canadian Junior Championship.
Desbiens Shaw and her husband, Justin, have a daughter, Lillian.
