Brink determined to make a change for the sake of her psychological well-being. “I simply determined to take away myself. I knew I deserved higher, so I left. And I’m glad I did,” she mentioned.
Earlier than senior 12 months, Brink transferred to a just lately opened college referred to as Mountainside Excessive. The contemporary begin suited her socially and on the court docket. Brink averaged 19.7 factors and 12.9 rebounds per recreation as a senior, and was named to the McDonald’s and Jordan Model Basic All-American groups in 2020.
4. She was recruited by Stanford, the place she grew to become a defensive standout.
Speak about a full-circle second: Stanford, the varsity which sparked her love for basketball as a center schooler, made Brink her first-ever scholarship provide. Brink was already laser-focused on Stanford, so it was a pure match to affix the crew underneath coach Tara VanDerveer.
Throughout Brink’s freshman season, the crew received all 20 video games she began. In addition they clinched their first NCAA championship since 1992, eking out the victory by one level. Brink contributed 10 of the crew’s 54 factors in that recreation and led in blocks.
Throughout her first three years of faculty, Brink set—then reset—the varsity report for single-season blocks, ending with 118 as a junior, rating quantity two within the nation. As a sophomore and junior, she led the crew in factors, rebounds, and blocks.
Brink helped her crew grow to be Pac-12 common season champions for 4 consecutive seasons and win the Pac-12 match in 2021 and 2022. In 2024, Brink completed her collegiate profession with essentially the most blocks in Stanford historical past with 424—a stat that helped her win the Naismith Defensive Participant of the 12 months award.
5. Steph Curry doles out some helpful coaching recommendation.
Brink has a secret weapon that’s come in useful throughout her journey to the WNBA: Her godbrother is among the NBA’s prime shooters, Stephen Curry. Their dads performed basketball collectively in school, and their mothers had been school roommates. The households stay shut buddies, and the Currys are Brink’s godparents.
At a press conference earlier than Brink’s first NCAA match, Curry advised reporters that he and his dad “spent somewhat little bit of time together with her [and] gave her some pointers” to develop her bounce shot. He added that she’s “off and operating” now and “it’s been superior to look at” her develop as a participant.
So when it got here time for the 2024 WNBA draft, it’s no shock that Brink reached out to him to share the second. She Facetimed Curry minutes earlier than it kicked off and later advised reporters that her godbrother reminded her to “have enjoyable with it.”
6. Over one million individuals observe her on social media.
Brink’s athletic dominance, trend sense—she was just lately featured in a Skims marketing campaign alongside different WNBA gamers—and openness on social media made her a must-follow: She’s racked up almost 800,000 on Instagram and over 300,000 on TikTok.
So it’s solely becoming that Brink has benefited from the NCAA’s 2019 Identify, Picture and Likeness (NIL) ruling, which permits scholar athletes to earn money from model offers. In accordance with On3, she’s made near $300,000 by means of NIL partnerships (with manufacturers like Estée Lauder and Sprouts) this 12 months by means of April 16, which makes her the tenth highest-paid girls’s basketball participant within the NCAA.
7. Brink made historical past with a New Stability sponsorship.
Regardless of rising up within the Nike zip code and self-describing herself as a “Nike child” due to her mother and father’ jobs, Brink accepted a sponsorship contract with New Stability in August 2023. In accordance with a press release from the model, she’s New Stability’s first sponsored feminine basketball participant.