🔴Stanford's Cameron Brink, expected lottery pick in WNBA Draft, enjoying women's basketball's 'ama🔴
0Stanford's Cameron Brink, expected lottery pick in WNBA Draft, enjoying women's basketball's 'amazing' growth
It's been a busy week for Stanford forward Cameron Brink. Exactly a week ago, Brink and the Stanford Cardinal wrapped their last-ever season in the Pac-12 conference as the regular-season champions. For her part, Brink was named the Pac-12 Player of the Year and won her third Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year award, joining WNBA star Chiney Ogwumike as the only players to claim DPOY three times.
The Oregon native is averaging 17.8 points and 12 rebounds per game heading into the 2024 NCAA Women's Tournament. Although this is Brink's fourth year at Stanford, she is entitled to another year of eligibility due to the disruptions the COVID-19 pandemic caused during her collegiate career.
Brink has been undecided about whether she will return to Stanford or enter the WNBA Draft -- until yesterday.
"It's so beautiful that this decision has been so back and forth for me because Stanford has been such a safe haven and amazing place for me where I've grown and learned so much. ... I can never ask for anything more," Brink told CBS Sports on Monday. "It's beautiful how hard the decision is, but I'm excited to let the world know."
On Tuesday, Brink officially announced this will be her last year at Stanford as she will declare for the 2024 WNBA Draft next month. CBS Sports projects Brink will go second overall to the Los Angeles Sparks.
Brink also inked two new sponsorship deals, including Icy Hot. CBS Sports talked to Brink about her latest endorsement, playing for Stanford coach Tara Vanderveer, and more.
From NCAA to the pros
Tuesday was the final of two consecutive days off before it's back to work with the Stanford Cardinal ahead of the 2024 NCAA Women's Tournament. Although the Cardinal fell short to USC in the Pac-12 title game, Stanford is expected to be a top seed in the tournament. The Cardinal are ranked fourth in the country, only behind undefeated South Carolina, Iowa and Pac-12 rival USC.
While Brink may have enjoyed time away from the court, that doesn't mean she hasn't been working at all. She spent some of Monday speaking to media about her new sponsorship deal with Icy Hot. It's a timely deal, not only because March Madness is upon us, but also because Brink has been dealing with a hip contusion after taking a fall against Cal earlier in the Pac-12 Women's Tournament.
"You can only take so much ibuprofen," Brink said, "and it's like, what can you do for a contusion?"
In her case, the Stanford trainer grabs a pair of gloves, a healthy scoop of Icy Hot and provides instant relief that will get Brink back into action. "I put my body through a lot, so it just it's a great partnership," Brink said.
Between playing elite NCAA basketball at Stanford and 3x3 with USA Basketball over the summer, Brink has been focused on recovery in a very intentional way. She works with Stanford alumna Susan King Borchardt, who has worked with WNBA champions like Sue Bird, Breanna Stewart and Kelsey Plum.
"Since I've worked with her, I have taken my body, my performance recovery, to a new level, and through her I have learned that if you want to be great, you have to put the time into your body just as much, if not more, off court than on court," Brink told CBS Sports.
Brink's Icy Hot deal that will follow her to the WNBA is another way to focus on recovery while also building out her endorsement portfolio in a meaningful and intentional way. She is among the crop of NCAA athletes who played collegiately both with and without NIL deals. Although Brink now has an agent and will soon likely have more of a support team upon entering the WNBA -- right now her mother and boyfriend are her content team -- she, like many elite NCAA athletes, still gravitated toward brands she's familiar with.
"It's kind of a crazy full-circle moment for me to be like, 'Well, I'm working with Icy Hot,' that I've been using my whole life," Brink said. "But it works so well because I try to only work with brands that I authentically align with."
Women's basketball on the rise
We at CBS Sports have been reporting on if and how NIL deals change once college players go pro. Icy Hot has confirmed this will be its second partnership term with Brink, and the company looks forward to working with her throughout her transition to the WNBA.