STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford senior Cameron Brink has made the list of the Top 10 candidates for the 2024 Lisa Leslie Award. Named after the three-time All-American,1994 National Player of the Year, and Class of 2015 Hall of Famer, the annual award, now in its seventh year, recognizes the top centers in women's NCAA Division I college basketball.
A national committee comprising of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates in October, which has now been narrowed to just 10. In March, the five finalists will be presented to Leslie and the Hall of Fame's selection committee. Fans will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite finalist at www.hoophallawards.com.
Cameron Brink won her third Pac-12 Player of the Week honor of the season on Jan. 8 and 10th of her career to become the third in conference history with double-digit player of the week awards. Chiney Ogwumike has the record with 18 and Oregon's Sabrina Ionescu is second with 11.
The two-time reigning Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and 2023 WBCA Defensive Player of the Year, Brink is third nationally in blocks per game (3.22). The nation's leading active shot blocker with 355 in her career, Brink is looking to become the 17th Division I player with 400 career rejections. Against UAlbany on Nov. 26, she moved past Lisa Leslie (321) and into third in Pac-12 history in career blocks. She has 28 career games with five or more blocks, which leads the nation since 2020-21 and is nine ahead of No. 2 over that span.
She is one of three players in the country averaging 16+ points, 10+ rebounds and 3+ blocks per game this season. Since 1999-2000, those numbers have only been put up for an entire season 24 times, most recently Oklahoma State's Natasha Mack in 2020-21 (19.8 ppg/12.4 rpg/4.0 bpg). Brink does all her damage in a mere 21.9 minutes per game. Among the 128 DI players averaging 16.0 points per game (minimum eight games), Stanford's All-American is 128th in minutes per game.
Brink entered last season shooting just 62.7 percent in her career from the free throw line, but shot 84.8 percent (156-of-184) as a junior and ended the year with a program-record 48-straight makes. After going 25-of-25 at the line to start this season, her first miss in 284 days came on the second of two free throws at 9:26 in the second quarter of a 74-55 win over Belmont on Nov. 22. Brink's streak of 73 consecutive free throws made is the second-longest in DI history.
She is currently fourth in the NCAA this season in free throw percentage at 92.3 percent (84-of-91). Elena Delle Donne (6-foot-5) is the only DI player 6-foot-4 or taller to shoot better than 90 percent from the line in a season since 1999-2000. She hit 94.4 percent in 2010-11 and 92.1 percent in 2012-13.
The Cardinal beat Washington State at home on Jan. 5, 74-65, behind 20 points, 18 rebounds, five blocks, three assists and two steals from Brink. She is the only player in the country to put up those numbers in a game this season and just the ninth since 1999-2000.
The winner of the 2024 Lisa Leslie Award will be presented on a to be determined date, along with the four other members of the Women's Starting Five.
Brink and the No. 6 Cardinal are on the road this weekend when they play at Arizona State on Friday (5 p.m. PT) and Arizona on Sunday (11 a.m. PT).