Hokie ClubCHARLOTTE – Cori McMillan was named ACC Player of the Year and six other Hokies garnered All-ACC recognition, the ACC announced on Wednesday morning.
McMillan and Michelle Chatfield were named to the First Team while Kylie Aldridge earned Second Team recognition. Emma Lemley, Jordan Lynch, Emma Mazzarone and Zoe Yaeger were selected to the Third Team.
Tech’s seven All-ACC selections were tied for the most with Florida State.
All-ACC honorees were voted on by the league's head coaches based on their performance in conference play.
Player of the Year
Cori McMillan, Sr., OF
First Team
Michelle Chatfield, So., INF
Cori McMillan, Sr., OF
Second Team
Kylie Aldridge, Jr., C/DP
Third Team
Emma Lemley, Sr., P
Jordan Lynch*, Fr., INF
Emma Mazzarone, So., P
Zoe Yaeger, So., C
*Also on All-Freshman Team
McMillan becomes the first Hokie to win ACC Player of the Year since 2006 (Angela Tincher) and the second ever to win the award. The senior leads the country with 29 home runs and hit 18 of them in ACC play. Hitting .410, McMillan finished ACC play with 32 hits, 30 RBIs, a 1.115 slugging percentage and a 1.636 OPS.
The Greensboro, N.C., native has been instrumental in some of the Hokies’ biggest wins. She hit the walk-off home run in Tech’s 6-5 win over then-No. 16 Stanford and hit two home runs against then-No. 9 Seminoles as Tech defeated Florida State, 8-6.
Three of McMillan’s four multi-home run games have come in ACC play. She spearheaded Tech’s record-setting 11 home runs at Pitt – the second most home runs ever hit in an NCAA softball game – with three home runs of her own. McMillan became just the fourth person in Hokie history to hit three home runs in a game.
She won ACC Player of the Week (May 6) and is now a back-to-back First Team All-ACC honoree.
Chatfield led the Hokies with a .427 average in conference play. Hitting 10 home runs in the ACC slate, Chatfield garnered ACC Player of the Week twice for her stellar weekends against conference opponents Louisville and Cal.
Against the Cardinal, Chatfield hit four home runs with seven RBIs and a 1.727 slugging percentage to lead Tech to a series sweep. She also earned D1 Softball National Player of the Week honors. During Tech’s series win at Cal, Chatfield hit .700 with three home runs, with one being a grand slam, to earn her second ACC Player of the Week honor.
This is Chatfield’s second All-ACC honor as she was tabbed to the All-ACC Third Team in 2024.
Aldridge was named an all-conference honoree for the first time in her career. The catcher/designated player hit .385 for the Hokies in ACC play with four home runs and 20 RBIs. She was on a 10-game hit streak in ACC play (April 12-May 2) and also recorded a season-high four RBIs in the Hokies’ 10-0 win over Louisville.
Lemley earned All-ACC honors for the fourth straight season as she was named to the Third Team. The senior went 6-4 in conference play with a 4.45 ERA. She made 10 starts over 18 appearances and finished ACC play with two shutouts in 67.2 innings pitched. Her 65 strikeouts ranked third through ACC play and she held opponents to a .259 batting average.
Lynch made an immediate impact in her rookie campaign. Named an NFCA Top 25 Freshman of the Year finalist, Lynch hit .380 in ACC play with 27 hits and 17 RBIs. Eight of her team-leading 17 doubles came against ACC opponents. Slugging .648, Lynch also hit three home runs in conference play. She was also named to the ACC All-Freshman Team.
Mazzarone went a perfect 6-0 in ACC play over 40.0 innings pitched. The sophomore held opponents to a team-low .211 average and allowed just 18 earned runs over the conference slate. Her 3.15 ERA was the lowest among Hokie pitchers and she also tallied 39 strikeouts. She earned two huge wins in the circle for Tech this season with her victories against then-No. 16 Stanford and then-No. 9 Florida State. It marks her second straight All-ACC Third Team selection.
Yaeger had a stellar sophomore campaign behind the plate. Batting .333 over 24 ACC games, Yaeger recorded 27 RBIs and six home runs. She recorded a season-high four RBIs in the Hokies’ 6-1 win over then-No. 23 Virginia and also went 2-for-4 with three RBIs in Tech’s 8-6 win over then-No. 9 Florida State. She started 23 games behind the plate for the Hokies and had 147 putouts.