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Her real name is Amelia Cousins, although everyone calls her by her nickname, “Millie,” and she looks to be another in an impressive line of standout softball imports from Australia thanks to the development of head coach Mark Armstrong, who is coaching in Sweet Heat Softball and the Cruisers Softball Club in the Land Down Under.
Armstrong is a successful coach and trainer based in the Sydney area and, last October, we told you about one of his students, Class of 2022 grad Charli Orsini, who played on the Australian Jr. National Team and will competeat the University of Tennessee, even though she had never been to the Vols campus (over 9,000 miles away) when she committed!
According to her coach, Orsini will travel to the United States this month to play with a travel ball team prior to joining her SEC school.
Click HERE to read the Extra Inning Softball profile on Charli
It looks like lightning has struck twice out of Australia, as Coach Armstrong has another young pitching prodigy seemingly bound to play in the NCAA too.
“Millie has had a somewhat parallel career to Charli here since a very early age and is also her best buddy in playing together on several teams I coach.”
A 2023 right-handed pitcher throwing in the low 60’s with excellent pitch movement, Millie has had an ERA and WHIP under 1.00 across several high levels of competition.
Next month, in fact, she will visit the States to tour several Division I programs and attend various pitching and skills camps.
Millie, who is also a dangerous hitter with an exit velocity over 70 mph, has been a highly-rated and highly-touted prospect since the age of 13 in the Australian Junior National Team development program as she has played on the country’s Jr. Women’s team at U 15’s, U16’s and U17’s in the International Friendship Series.
That success for the now 17-year-old hasn’t escaped the attention of top American NCAA programs as Millie has been contacted by over 15 programs spanning Power 5 programs, various NAIA and even Top 20 junior colleges. Expect that list to continue growing, too, as her success continues to be globally discovered.
What makes her burgeoning recruiting process even more impressive is that she has mostly managed it by herself, having designed her own full profile pages, made her own videos and organized Zoom calls with many college coaches at all times of the day and night, especially over the past three to four months.
Click HERE to view Millie’s profile page
Below is one of the videos she’s compiled to showcase her talents to prospective college programs literally across the world:
Along with her three years on the Aussie Jr. Women’s National Team, Millie has also earned prestigious national honors such as the U18’s NSW All Schools Softball Team (All States) in 2021 as well as the U18’s Women’s NSW Combined Catholic Colleges School Sports Softball Team in 2020.
The athlete began her recruiting process in the sophomore year of high school—in early 2019—and has received all of this attention despite the two years of COVID-restricted softball in her home country.
“Her success,” says Coach Armstrong, “is a real achievement over adversity. Millie’s determination to follow her dream in the game she loves is second to none here in Sydney.”
Here’s a Q&A done by Extra Inning Softball’s Brentt Eads to learn more about Millie, her successes so far and which universities in the U.S. she’ll be visiting next month…
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Extra Inning Softball: Let’s go back to the beginning… of softball at least for you! When and how did you first get started in the sport?
Millie Cousins: I actually played a lot of sports from as early as the age of 4. I can even remember mum saying: “Play as many different sports until you find what you love.” I played an Aussie game called netball, soccer, gymnastics and swimming, then at the age of seven I asked to try softball because my Dad played. After four games, there was a trial for the U11s Tee-Ball local league All-Star team and I begged mum to let me go to the trial.
Later I received a letter in the mail advising I had indeed made the team. I loved all the training and tournaments. I played pitcher because I was the smallest one, but I loved that I was involved in every play, even if it was just getting the ball back to throw to the catcher to put on the batting tee. I loved it.
EIS: Was there a moment or memory you can recall when you said to yourself, “This is what I REALLY want to do!”
MC: The night in 2019 that I was named in my first Aussie junior national team. I remember getting the email at around 10:30 pm at night and then calling my family to tell them. I just could not go back to sleep. We were celebrating all night. I knew then that I wanted that feeling of playing at a great level in my chosen sport and that all my hard work had paid off.
EIS: You’re played up in age much of your career, as high as 23U… has that been tough or more beneficial? What have been the advantages and disadvantages?
MC: Yes, you’re right. I have always played above my age and have been playing the last two years in Open Women’s, 23U and 18s League Teams while I was 16 & 17. I love playing with and against the older girls, as you play some really tough softball. I love the fast pace of the game at the higher levels. I love the harder throws and making the great plays.
It’s definitely an advantage for me as a pitcher, as I feel it has made me much stronger when I really have to work the zone around the older more experienced batters. Also facing the faster pitchers when batting is what I prepare for in training.
Playing against many of the Australian Olympic players has also been amazing and a great experience! I also play in a competition with and against boys that are at an All- State level. I really enjoy that, as they automatically think because I am a female pitcher it might be easier. When you get them out on a great change up or a rise ball, it’s the best feeling! They also play a different kind of softball. Maybe taking a lot more risks and being much more ruthless.
Disadvantages in playing above my age, well, I can’t really think of any I have come across. It’s all great!
EIS: What would you say you’re most proud of in your softball career?
MC: Pitching at 16U Nationals (All States) in 2020, 14 innings back-to-back for 21 strikeouts, no walks, no runs against. I was so proud to do that for my teammates and coaches, to give us a National Championship Game berth, and also playing at the International Friendship Series in the green and gold national colours of Australia felt amazing.
EIS: Tell us about your friendship with Charli and how her journey has helped you identify what you’d like to do…
MC: Oh Gosh where do I start, we have played together since way back, starting in U11s. I can’t think of a time we weren’t together on the field, often being the two pitchers of the team we were on. We push each other in our training sessions, we share our dreams and goals and help each other stay focused on what we want. Charli’s mum, Lyneene, is also one of my pitching coaches as well, so we are like a little softball family. We are always there for each other.
EIS: From what Coach Mark has indicated, you’d perhaps like to play for an American university… where are you in that process now?
MC: I’m talking with a number of colleges in several college conferences so that’s really exciting. I send updated videos from games or training often and we also have contact through email, phone calls, etc. I also now have an agency, ASM, which is helping me in the recruitment process as well.
*** Scroll down to read more from Millie…