If there were ever an award given for having the longest odds of becoming the best hitter in Virginia Tech softball history, Cori McMillan would probably win going away.
With a lot of hard work and a Hokies coaching staff that believed in her, McMillan graduated in December as the program’s most prolific hitter. She holds the single-season records at the school in home runs (31), runs scored (75), slugging percentage (1.047), total bases (177) and on-base percentage (.549). Moreover, she also owns Tech’s career records in batting average (.407), slugging percentage (.963) and on-base percentage (.514).
However, McMillan’s path from Northwest Guilford High School in Greensboro, N.C., to Virginia Tech was not an easy one. After a monster sophomore year in high school, where she hit .629 with an on-base percentage of .720, COVID shortened her junior season, and she ended her high school career with only 11 home runs.
A lack of exposure in the travel ball world also limited McMillan’s exposure. In November 2020 when Extra Innings Softball released its player rankings for the class of 2021, McMillan was ranked No. 191. Since the organization uses multiple ties throughout its rankings, there were actually 486 players ranked above her.
Her only Division I offers came from Radford and USC Upstate, and she chose the Highlanders, which turned out to be an excellent decision.
McMillan had an outstanding freshman season for the Highlanders, hitting .365 with 14 home runs and 36 RBI. She was an All-Big South first-team selection and was named an NFCA Top-25 Freshman of the Year finalist.
It was a game during her sophomore season that eventually changed the trajectory of her career, though. On April 18, 2023, the Highlanders visited Blacksburg for a game against Virginia Tech, and while McMillan didn’t know it at the time, that set in motion the process of her becoming a Hokie.
“It was my first trip to Blacksburg, and even though I was in the opposing dugout, it showed me how different Power 5 play was,” McMillan told Tech Sideline. “You could feel the presence of Hokies softball from the other dugout. I remember thinking that it would be cool to be part of that, but I really didn’t know if I was good enough to play at that level.”
McMillan proceeded to homer in her first at-bat that day — the only Radford tally in a 12-1 Tech win — and singled later in the third inning.
It may have been just one game, but her performance that day made an impression on Hokies head coach Pete D’Amour.
“Cori landed on our radar when we played them her sophomore year,” D’Amour said. “She hit a home run that just about cleared the pine trees in center field. I remember telling [assistant coach] Mike Lewis that if she ever hit the portal, we needed to see about adding her.”
McMillan finished her sophomore year at Radford with a .324 batting average and a team-high .486 slugging percentage, earning All-Big South honors for the second straight season. She also stole 20 bases.
But she wanted to explore playing at the next level, so she entered the transfer portal. When she put her name in, she made a conscious choice not to reach out to any coaches. “[I] wanted the coach to want me, not just respond to a text,” she said.
When her mom specifically asked her about Virginia Tech, McMillan replied that since she had only played them once, “They might not even be interested in me.”
McMillan soon found out that she thought wrong about the Hokies. D’Amour wasted no time in reaching out once her name hit the portal.
“I remember vividly going to get my hair done at 8 a.m. on a Wednesday morning,” McMillan said, “and while I was on the way, the Radford compliance person reached out and told me my name was officially in the transfer portal. That meant coaches could now reach out and contact me. About 10 minutes later, I checked my phone, and the first email was from Coach Pete, and it said, ‘Text me when you get a chance.’”
The Hokies were heading to the Athens Regional the next day for the first round of the NCAA Tournament, so her official visit to Tech had to wait for a couple of weeks.
During her visit, D’Amour asked McMillan what kind of coach she wanted to play for, and she responded that she wanted someone “who was not very emotional when they coach, but is very tactical.”
“Little did I know who I was talking to,” McMillan joked.
D’Amour didn’t promise her a spot. Instead, he simply committed to offering her an opportunity. However, he told her, “I think we can help you and you can help us,” before adding that she “could be an All-American at Virginia Tech and could hit 20-30 home runs” — a statement McMillan called “totally absurd” at the time.
Once the Hokies confirmed that most of her credit hours would transfer, she was all in, and she immediately made an impression once practice started.
“It was clear after the first few weeks in practice that she had the potential to be a great player,” D’Amour said. “Her bat speed, her arm and her general athleticism were things you can’t teach.”
Still, her time as a Hokie got off to a slow start when she recorded only three hits in her first 18 plate appearances. D’Amour and Lewis sat her down and told her she was trying too hard.
“As soon as you stop thinking and just play softball, you are going to do amazing things,” McMillan recalled the coaches saying. “You could lead the nation in home runs.”
Though she was somewhat skeptical at the time — she remembered thinking, “That’s a really big longshot since I’m zero for my last twelve” — their message must have landed as she proceeded to go five for her next seven, blasting four home runs in the process.
McMillan ended her junior season with 21 home runs and 64 RBI while hitting .379 and going a perfect 20-for-20 in stolen bases. For her efforts, she was named an NFCA Second Team All-American. But the best was yet to come.
“The VT coaches have always pushed me to dream so big and make things happen,” McMillan said. “Before my senior season, they were talking my goals for the year and told me I could be a [First Team] All-American and hit 30 home runs, and I thought that was outlandish.”
Indeed, she capped off her collegiate career with three First Team All-American honors — from NFCA, D1Softball and Softball America, respectively — and led the nation in home runs (31). McMillan was just one of nine players in Division I history to smash at least 31 homers in a single season.
“Even though she was only here for two years, her career stacks up with any player that has ever played at Virginia Tech,” D’Amour said. “I don’t say this because we coached her, but in my career, I can’t remember an offensive season as good as hers from any player [that I’ve coached or coached against] that she had last year.”
Her softball career didn’t end at the college level, though. A new professional league, Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL), was founded in 2024 and took off in 2025. Both McMillan and Hokies pitcher Emma Lemley were selected in the first round of the AUSL Draft.
However, her season with the Chicago Bandits was a disappointment after the high standards she had set for herself. She hit just .171 in 18 games, with a slugging percentage of .200 and an on-base percentage of .194.
“I can’t blame anyone but myself,” McMillan said. “I came in thinking I needed to do everything at once, rather than just trust the idea that I deserved to be there. I was trying to hit a five-run home run every at-bat.”
McMillan returned to Blacksburg in the fall to complete her degree in human nutrition, foods and exercise (HNFE) — she was named to the Dean’s List for the fourth straight semester — and spent time helping out the Virginia Tech softball team.
Bandits teammate Bella Dayton reached out to McMillan about the possibility of playing for the Charros team in the Mexican Softball League, and the more she researched, the more excited she became. Coach D’Amour encouraged her to pursue the opportunity, telling her, “You need to go play, you need to get your groove back, and see the country while you do it.”
McMillan prepared by hitting off of Lemley, and the plan seemed to have worked. After eight games, she is hitting over .400, and she blasted her first regular-season home run on Saturday night. She was also named as the Charros’ representative in the LMS Home Run Derby on Feb. 16.
Hokie Alum Cori McMillan goes BOOM tonight in the Mexican Softball League with a 2-run bomb.
Way to go, Cori! pic.twitter.com/gqcGoclWKn
— Chip Grubb (@Hokiechip) February 1, 2026
“I am loving it so much and having so much fun,” McMillan said. “It is a very serious league, but their primary goal is to have fun. The organization is first-class and so very enthusiastic. I am enjoying it a lot.”
McMillan plans to return to Blacksburg after the Mexican season ends on March 17 to watch the Hokies finish their season and weigh her options for the summer. There are now two softball leagues based in the United States, and it’s reasonable to expect that a good season in Mexico will lead to an opportunity in one or both.
She’s listed as a reserve player in the AUSL, where Lemley plays for the Carolina Blaze, and that league is a possibility. In addition, the Professional Softball League, a collection of formerly independent teams, will begin play this season. That’s where Hokie alum Bre Peck is headed after signing with the Florida Vibe.
McMillan has always been a fan favorite in Blacksburg and was quick to make sure Hokie Nation knew how much she appreciated the support.
“I have loved my time in Blacksburg, and Hokie Nation is the best,” McMillan said. “They have always been fantastic to me my whole time there. It is truly a special place.”