CLEVELAND, Ohio – Cameron Brink was named Naismith Women's Defensive Player of the Year, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced at a press conference in Cleveland on Wednesday.
"It's an incredible honor to be named the 2024 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year," Brink said. "It may be an individual award, but it's a testament to all the people who have poured into me, not only this season, but throughout my career at Stanford – my family, coaches, teammates, and friends. I wouldn't be where I am without them and am extremely grateful for all their love and support."
Brink's honor is the first for Stanford since the award was instituted in 2018. Previous winners include South Carolina's Aliyah Boston (2022, 2023), Oklahoma State's Natasha Mack (2021), Baylor's DiDi Richards (2020), California's Kristine Anigwe (2019) and Mississippi State's Teaira McCowan (2018).
Brink finished her career with 424 blocks, the 14th most in NCAA history, and her national-best 3.74 blocks per game average this season were the most by a major conference player since 2020-21. Her 127 blocks as a senior broke her own school record from last year (118) and are the third-most in Pac-12 history. When she arrived on campus, Jayne Appel held Stanford's career (273) and single-season (84) blocked shots records. Brink's 88 blocks as a freshman were her fewest at Stanford.
She was fifth nationally in rebounds per game, averaging a team-best 11.9, the third best in program history behind Chiney Ogwumike in both 2012-13 (12.9) and 2013-14 (12.1). Using College Basketball Reference advanced metrics, she topped all DI players in defensive box plus/minus (9.9), total rebound percentage (24.6) and block percentage (13.8). Her defensive rating of 69.9 was second.
In her senior season, Brink was the only player in the country to average 17.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game and just the ninth major conference player to do that since 1999-2000. She finished with a PER of 45.75, the best mark for a major conference player since 2018-19.
Brink's career totals of 1,892 points, 1,223 rebounds, 226 assists and 424 blocks make her the third player with 1,800 points, 1,200 rebounds, 200 assists and 400 blocks in the past 25 years along with Brittney Griner (Baylor) and Courtney Paris (Oklahoma). This year, she also became the first college player with 500 points, 300 rebounds and 100 blocks in back-to-back seasons since UConn's Breanna Stewart (2014-16).