The Indiana Fever’s road game versus the LA Sparks on Friday will be, incredibly enough, the first face-off between Caitlin Clark and Cameron Brink. Both were former college superstars but never got the chance to square off on the basketball court. Clark carried Iowa to two NCAA championship games while Brink won the big one in her first season at Stanford.
When Clark and Brink declared themselves eligible for the 2024 WNBA Draft, there wasn’t any doubt that they would be lottery picks. The Hawkeyes’ former leader was grabbed No. 1 by the Fever before the Sparks took the Cardinal forward second. They are expected to be their respective teams’ future franchise cornerstones in pro basketball.
Despite never meeting on the hardcourt, a closer look at Caitlin Clark and Cameron Brink's numbers will help underline the greatness of the two. Perhaps fans will get a better idea of why they were taken 1-2 in this year’s draft.
Comparing Caitlin Clark and Cameron Brink’s high school stats
Caitlin Clark and Cameron Brink turned heads immediately during high school. The former was a star at Dowling Catholic High School in West Des Moines while the latter went to Southridge High School in Beaverton, Oregon.
Brink left Southridge after three years to play for Mountainside High School, which was still in Beaverton.
Here are Clark's high school basketball stats:
Brink's high school basketball stats:
A closer look at Clark and Brink’s college numbers
After showing their impressive skills in high school, Caitlin Clark and Cameron Brink’s next basketball journey was in college. Clark had already received interest from some of the biggest collegiate hoops programs before she even graduated from high school. She had offers from Notre Dame and Iowa State before eventually deciding to play for Lisa Bluder’s Hawkeyes.
From Mountainside, Brink took her talents to Stanford who had been interested in her when she was still 13 years old. Despite strong offers from Oregon and UConn, the lanky forward chose to be a Cardinal under Tara VanDerveer.
Here are Caitlin Clark's stats with the Hawkeyes:
Here are Cameron Brink's basketball stats at Stanford:
Caitlin Clark’s offensive brilliance was quite evident right from the start of her tenure under Bluder. She was already averaging 40.6% in 3-pointers on nearly 10 attempts from behind the arc. Clark would eventually sit atop the men’s and women’s NCAA all-time points leaderboard, surpassing the legendary “Pistol” Pete Maravich.
While Clark’s forte was offense, Cameron Brink was defense personified. She was already an excellent rim protector in her first year with VanDerveer and helped Stanford to the 2021 NCAA championship. In her final season in college, she averaged a staggering 3.7 blocks for the team. What can’t be seen were the shots she changed around the rim by just her presence alone.
Caitlin Clark major awards
Clark is arguably the greatest women’s college basketball player ever. She left Iowa with a cabinet bursting with some of the sports’ most prestigious awards.
- AP Player of the Year (2023, 2024)
- James E. Sullivan Award (2023, 2024)
- John R. Wooden Award (2023, 2024)
- Naismith College Player of the Year (2023, 2024)
- USBWA National Player of the Year (2023, 2024)
- Nancy Lieberman Award (2022, 2023, 2024)
- USBWA National Co-Freshman of the Year (2021)
- Big Ten Player of the Year (2022, 2023, 2024)
- McDonald’s All-American (2020)
- FIBA Under-19 World Cup MVP (2021)
Cameron Brink major awards
Brink’s trophy case isn’t as impressive as that of Clark but she was nonetheless a spectacular college player.
- NCAA champion (2021)
- Lisa Leslie Award (2024)
- Naismith Defensive Player of the Year (2024)
- First-team All-American for AP and USBWA (2024)
- WBCA Defensive Player of the Year (2023)
- Pac-12 Player of the Year (2022, 2024)
- Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year (2022, 2023, 2024)
- McDonald’s All-American (2020)
- FIBA 3x3 World Cup MVP (2023)
Caitlin Clark vs Cameron Brink in the WNBA
The most glaring number that stands out in Caitlin Clark’s first few games in the WNBA is the Indiana Fever’s 0-5 record. She has struggled at times, particularly with balancing her scoring and playmaking duties. Fever coach Christie Sides, however, is confident she will figure things out quickly.
Here are Clark's WNBA stats:
Cameron Brink, like Clark, has struggled a bit. She is already as good as advertised on defense. On Tuesday, Brink’s two late-game blocks allowed the Sparks to walk away with a 70-68 win over the Washington Mystics.
Here are Brink's WNBA stats: