Oregon’s own Cameron Brink returns to home state for Sweet 16 with Stanford women’s basketball

Published 12:43 pm Thursday, March 28, 2024

Stanford women’s basketball star Cameron Brink came back to where it all started for this year’s Sweet 16 leg of March Madness.

Brink, a native of Beaverton, had a chance to make the return to her home state of Oregon by playing in the Portland Regional 4 of this season’s NCAA Tournament in her final year of collegiate eligibility. It’s a dream come true for the All-American.

“It’s amazing. It’s so great to be home,” Brink said in a Thursday, March 28 press conference. “I live 15 minutes from (the Moda Center). I got to see my parents last night, my grandma, my dog. Life is good. I’m just soaking it all in.”

The road from Beaverton to Palo Alto was one that started early, with former Cardinal associate head coach Amy Tucker having offered Brink when she was going into eighth grade before Tucker’s retirement in 2017.

“Tucker basically offered her as an eighth grader,” Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer said. “I think (Brink) thought (Tucker) was offering her to come back to camp again, but she was offering her a scholarship. {/span}I watched (Brink) play as a young player, and just knew she had such great potential. She has obviously realized that.”

Realized potential may be an understatement. It would seemingly be easier to list the awards Brink hasn’t won at this point in her collegiate career. She’s a 2021 national champion, three-time AP All-American, two-time Pac-12 Player of the Year, three-time Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, 2024 Naismith trophy finalist and the 2023 WBCA Defensive Player of the year to name a few.

In her career, Brink has a 14-point and 9-rebound per game average. Her senior season has been her best, posting 17.5 points and 11 boards a game, leading Stanford to a second place finish in the Pac-12 tournament and Pac-12 regular season title.

The 30-6 record the Brink-led Stanford squad accumulated checks them into the Big Dance as a No. 2 seed. A blowout win over Norfolk State in the first round and an overtime thriller against Iowa State locked in its trip back to the Pacific Northwest — and a flurry of texts to Brink looking for tickets.

“(I’ve tried to get) as many tickets as I can get,” Brink said with a laugh. “I feel like I’ve had to beg all, especially the Greek girls, Stavi (Papadaki) and Elena (Bosgana), ‘Please, if you have any extra.’ Yeah, I’m so lucky to have such an amazing support system here.”

Brink’s basketball career is far from over, as she’s currently projected by CBS Sports to be the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 WBNA draft by the Los Angeles Sparks.

The recent stalling of a bid to award Portland a WNBA franchise would currently prevent Brink from playing for or against a squad for her hometown. Despite the current outlook, she remains hopeful that it could happen and be successful.

“I really think that Portland deserves a franchise here,” Brink said. “I think people would really rally behind a team here and they would support us… Hopefully one day. I think the way people are supporting women’s basketball now as a whole, there’s only more room for expansion. We have so much talent. The fact there’s so few roster spots is a shame. Hopefully there’s more expansion, and I feel like this would be a great place to go next.”

The collegiate road came to an end for Brink and her Stanford team with a 77-67 loss to North Carolina State in the Sweet 16 on Friday, March 29.

It’s a sad thought for the superstar, but one she says she feels at peace with getting a chance to play in front of her hometown one last time and for her final game as a Cardinal.

“If I have to lose anywhere, in front of family and friends, it’s the way I want to do it,” Brink said following the loss. “Playing in front of them my last college game ever really meant a lot to me. I think I’m really at peace with my career and how it went.”