Athlete Showcase: Cameron Brink

Cameron Brink is currently a 23 year old, 6’4”, small forward for the Los Angeles Sparks. Not long ago, Brink signed a deal with New Balance and has been on tour while recovering from an ACL injury. For instance, one can find her on New Balance commercials alongside Cooper Flagg, Kawhi Leonard, and Tyrese Maxey. She was second overall pick for the 2024 WNBA draft, and has been an excellent player for years. What many don’t know: while she is more well known for her basketball, she was also a significantly skilled volleyball player.

Brink's success started in high school. The summer after her junior year, Brink transferred from Southridge High School– a school that she had helped lead to three state finals and two championships– to Mountainside High school. Both were in her hometown Beaverton, Oregon. During her senior season at Mountainside, she averaged around 19.7 points, 13.12 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 2.5 steals, and 2.5 blocks per game.

By the time college rolled around, Cameron Brink was a pivotal player (no pun intended), and was considered a five star recruit by ESPN during 2020. She ended up going to Stanford to get a major in communications. During her freshman season, Stanford won all 20 games that she started in. The team also secured their first NCAA championship for the first time since 1992. Brink also set, and then reset the school’s record for single-season blocks. She had 118 in her junior year, ranking her the second highest in the country. As a sophomore and a junior, she led her team in rebounds, blocks, and points. She finished her college career with the most blocks in her school’s history– 424– and it helped her to win the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year award.

After her highly successful years in college, she moved on to the WNBA. She was the number two overall draft pick in 2024, and went to play with the LA Sparks. As of right now, Brink averages around 7.5 points per game, 1.1 steals per game, 5.3 rebounds per game, and 1.7 assists per game. But, this was all before an unfortunate game against the Connecticut Sun in June of 2024.

Cameron Brink tore her ACL, and has been slowly recovering. The incident happened a few minutes into the game on June 18th, 2024. Brink was driving to the basket, being guarded by Brionna Jones, as she took contact and her left leg buckled. She limped off the court and had to be carried to the locker room.

Getting injured also affected her plans to go to the Olympics. Before her injury, she was asked to join the 3x3 team. She was extremely excited to be an olympian, and her god-brother– Stephen Curry– would be going to Paris along-side her. But then came the injury, and Dearica Hamby replaced her spot on the team. After undergoing surgery, Cameron Brink was unable to play in Unrivaled this season, but continues to try to get better so that she can play after she recovers.