Virginia Tech Softball: Cori McMillan named ACC Player of the Year

Capping off a 40-win regular season for the Hokies and heading into the ACC tournament, the All-ACC teams were announced Wednesday morning.

To nobody's surprise, the nation's home run queen, Cori McMillan garnered the honor of ACC player of the year after an almost unrealistic year at the plate. Earning first-team bids in each of her two seasons in the illustrious conference.

Six of her teammates under Tech head coach Pete D'Amour earned team honors this season. First baseman Michelle Chatfield joins McMillan on the All-ACC first team, with Kylie Aldridge earning an All-ACC second team placement. Tech has four Hokies on the All-ACC third team: Freshman Jordan Lynch, catcher Zoe Yaeger, and two pitchers from opposite throwing sides--Emma Lemley and Emma Mazzarone.

McMillan, in the regular season alone, broke her own Hokies single-season home run record by eight blasts, and any hit in the postseason will grow this total. McMillan has failed to last more than two games since February 26 without sending a ball soaring over the fence.

Looking further at McMillan's slash--it is one of the most impressive single-season slashes anybody can post. Hitting .454/.561/1.092 in 50 games.

Chatfield rounded off the Hokies' first team selections, moving up from her third team selection in 2024. Chatfield surrendered some of her power from her freshman campaign, hitting four fewer homers. In return, a much more rounded approach at the plate, increasing her RBI and hit totals by nearly 25% from 2024.

Aldridge earned her second team nod, spending most of her junior season at the plate, swinging the bat for Tech as its main designated player. After Yaeger solidified herself behind the plate, D'Amour could not allow the bat of Aldridge to sit on the bench, slashing .352/.410/.571 in 2025.

Yaeger jumped into a more prominent role, increasing her workload in her sophomore season by 15 games. Yaeger remained around the same batting average, but with each hit she would collect more bases, averaging more power in her second season--hitting four times as many doubles and homers as she did in her freshman year.

The last positional ACC team honor for the Hokies was the freshman Jordan Lynch in the hot corner, playing in all 50 contests for Tech. Collecting 56 hits and 38 RBIs while slashing a line of .366/.420/.627 is a dominant start to a college career.

The southpaw Mazzarone earned ACC honors in her first two seasons in Blacksburg. The two-way star pitched 81.1 innings for the Hokies in the regular season with a sub-3.5 ERA. While hitting four home runs at the plate, batting .225.

Lemley, the senior, with her third team placement, successfully earned ACC honors in her four seasons, spending each in Blacksburg with D'Amour. Throwing four no-hitters, including two perfect games with 174 strikeouts, capped off an amazing career as a Hokie, who leads the program in all-time saves.

Lemley and McMillan were selected in the inaugural AUSL draft in the first round with the third and fourth overall selections.

The Hokies' postseason action will begin on Thursday in the second round of the ACC tournament. Tech is the third seed in the tournament after an 18-6 ACC season.

Related Links

Virginia Tech Football: Are the Hokies Better or Worse at Tight End Compared To Last Season?

Virginia Tech Softball: Preview for 2025 ACC Tournament

Virginia Tech Softball: Lemley and McMillan Taken in First Round of AUSL Draft