Background and career
Cameron Lee Brink (born December 31, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and for the Breeze of Unrivaled. She played college basketball at Stanford. She attended Mountainside High School and Southridge High School, both in her hometown of Beaverton, Oregon, where she was a McDonald's All-American and was ranked the third-best player in her class by ESPN. As a freshman at Stanford, Brink helped her team win the 2021 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament. In her sophomore season, she shared Pac-12 Player of the Year honors and led her team to the Final Four. As a junior, Brink received the WBCA Defensive Player of the Year award and became Stanford's all-time leader in blocks. In her senior season, she was again named Pac-12 Player of the Year. Brink has won two gold medals with the United States at the youth international level and led the national 3x3 team to the 2023 FIBA 3x3 World Cup title, where she was named the tournament's most valuable player (MVP).
Cameron Lee Brink was born on December 31, 2001, in Princeton, New Jersey. She lived in Amsterdam for three years, from age eight, because of her parents' jobs at Nike and returned to the United States before starting sixth grade. Brink was not initially interested in basketball, preferring art as a child and being drawn to volleyball after watching the 2012 Summer Olympics. She began playing basketball after attending a camp held by her godfather, Dell Curry, while her family was visiting Curry's family in Charlotte, North Carolina. Upon returning to Amsterdam, Brink played for her school and was the youngest player on the team. One year later, her family moved to Oregon, where she joined a basketball club.
Brink played basketball for Southridge High School in Beaverton, Oregon for three seasons under head coach Mike Bergmann. As a freshman, she averaged 12.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.7 blocks per game, helping her team win the Class 6A state title. In her sophomore season, Brink led Southridge to a 28–1 record and a second straight Class 6A state championship, averaging 17.1 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game. Her team won all 26 games against in-state opponents by double digits. She was named Oregon Gatorade Player of the Year. Entering her junior season, Brink entered a leading role for Southridge, averaging 21.3 points and 11.1 rebounds per game. She led her team to the 6A state final and received USA Today Oregon Player of the Year honors, while repeating as Oregon Gatorade Player of the Year. For her senior season, Brink transferred to Mountainside High School in Beaverton. She averaged 19.7 points, 13.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 2.5 steals and 2.5 blocks per game as a senior. She missed five games with a high ankle sprain and played through injury at the state tournament. Brink was selected to play in the McDonald's All-American Game and the Jordan Brand Classic, which were both canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to basketball, Brink played volleyball for Southridge as a middle blocker. She helped the team win its first state championship as a sophomore, recording nine kills and five blocks against Central Catholic High School in the Class 6A final. Brink was considered a five-star recruit and the number three player in the 2020 class by ESPN. On November 7, 2018, she committed to Stanford over scholarship offers from Oregon and UConn. Brink described Stanford as her dream school and was drawn there by her relationships with head coach Tara VanDerveer and assistant coach Kate Paye. She also felt that attending the university would benefit her after her playing career due to its academic prowess. Brink had received an offer from Stanford after a camp at age 13, where she impressed then-assistant coach Amy Tucker during a exhibition game against a college team.
On November 25, 2020, Brink made her college debut, recording 17 points and 9 rebounds in a 108–40 win over Cal Poly. On March 5, 2021, she posted a season-high 24 points while also having 11 rebounds and five blocks in a 79–45 victory against Oregon State at the Pac-12 tournament semifinals. Brink was named to the all-tournament team after Stanford won the Pac-12 tournament. Brink helped her team win its first national championship since 1992, contributing 10 points, six rebounds and three blocks in a 54–53 win over Arizona in the title game. As a freshman, Brink averaged 9.9 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game, and was selected to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team and All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention. She set a program single-season record with 88 blocks.
In her sophomore season, Brink assumed a leading role for Stanford with Haley Jones. On November 25, 2021, she recorded 21 points, 22 rebounds and five blocks in a 69–66 win over fourth-ranked Indiana. On January 30, 2022, Brink had 25 points and 15 rebounds in a 75–69 victory over eighth-ranked Arizona. On February 6, she posted a season-high 26 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in an 83–57 win against USC. Brink helped Stanford win the Pac-12 tournament, where she was named to the all-tournament team. In the Elite Eight of the 2022 NCAA tournament, she posted 10 points, six rebounds and six blocks in a 59–50 win over Texas, leading her team back to the Final Four. As a sophomore, Brink averaged 13.5 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game, setting a new program single-season record with 91 blocks. She led Stanford with 13 double-doubles. She earned Pac-12 Player of the Year from the media, Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, All-Pac-12 Team and All-Defensive Team honors. Brink was named a third-team All-American by the Associated Press (AP) and United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), and made the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) All-America team.
On January 29, 2023, Brink recorded her first triple-double, with 16 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high 10 blocks in a 62–54 win over Oregon. She surpassed Jayne Appel as Stanford's all-time leader in blocks on February 17, after posting 12 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks in a 50–47 victory over USC. As a junior, Brink averaged 15.1 points, 9.6 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game, and was named All-Pac-12 and Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year. She received the WBCA Defensive Player of the Year award as the top defensive player in the nation. Brink earned second-team All-American honors from the AP and the USBWA, while repeating as a WBCA All-American. She ranked third among Division I players in blocks per game and broke her own single-season program record with 118 blocks.
