March 12, 2024
Cameron Brink declares for 2024 WNBA Draft
Brink announced Tuesday afternoon with a social media post that she will be moving on to the WNBA following her final NCAA run with the Stanford Cardinal
Cameron Brink is joining the WNBA’s Class of 2024.
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She announced Tuesday afternoon with a social media post that she will be moving on to the WNBA following this NCAA Tournament run with the Stanford Cardinal.
She is expected to be a lottery pick, perhaps as high as No. 2, behind Iowa’s Caitlin Clark. The second pick currently belongs to the Los Angeles Sparks.
“My four years at Stanford have been nothing short of life-changing,” Brink said. “I am excited to announce that I will be declaring for the 2024 WNBA Draft. Although I am excited for that next chapter, we will have unfinished business and so much to accomplish in my final season at Stanford.”
Brink expressed indecision about whether she would return for a fifth season as recently as the Cardinal’s Senior Day. With this being the final year of Pac-12 play and the Cardinal heading to the ACC, it seems like a logical point to turn professional.
The Beaverton, Oregon, native has etched her name into the Stanford record books in a four-year career that included winning a national championship with the Cardinal during the COVID season of 2020-21, twice being named the Pac-12 Player of the Year and three times its Defensive Player of the Year. She is the reigning WBCA Defensive Player of the Year and a finalist for the 2024 Lisa Leslie Award as the game’s top center. On Monday, she was named a semifinalist for Naismith Defensive Player of the Year.
Brink is the nation’s leading active shot-blocker, pacing the country in total blocks (109) and blocks per game (3.52). She is 19 blocks shy of the Pac-12 record. She ranks third nationally in rebounds per game (12.0) and is averaging 17.8 points per game in 25.6 minutes on the floor.
She is one of the nation’s most well-rounded talents, with pro-ready skills on both ends of the floor. Her potential addition to the roster in Los Angeles would be huge in helping the Sparks rebuild their frontcourt after the loss of stalwart (and fellow Stanford alum) Nneka Ogwumike, who left the franchise in free agency for Seattle after 12 years.
Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer acknowledged Brink’s “exceptional college career.”
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“Cam has fully embraced what it means to be a Stanford student-athlete during her time on The Farm,” VanDerveer said in a statement. “She worked hard to improve each and every year, helped us win a national championship, and has a lengthy list of very well-deserved awards and accomplishments.
“Simply put, she’ll go down as one of the best in program history. I am thankful I had the opportunity to be her coach and am so excited to follow her career and watch her play professionally. Everyone with Stanford Athletics wishes Cam and her family the absolute best in this next stage of her life.”
Brink will indeed be ranked among the best to ever play at Stanford. She is only the second player in Pac-12 history with 500 points, 300 rebounds and 100 blocks in a season, and is only the third player in Pac-12 history to sweep the league’s Player and Defensive Player of the Year awards, along with Stanford’s Chiney Ogwumike and Arizona’s Aari McDonald.
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Written by Michelle Smith
Michelle Smith has covered women's basketball nationally for nearly three decades. Smith has worked for ESPN.com, The Athletic, the San Francisco Chronicle, as well as Pac-12.com and WNBA.com. She was named to the Alameda County Women's Hall of Fame in 2015, is the 2017 recipient of the Jake Wade Media Award from the Collegiate Sports Information Directors Association (CoSIDA) and was named the Mel Greenberg Media Award winner by the WBCA in 2019.
