Cameron Brink chose to forgo a fifth and final season of college basketball and leave Stanford for the WNBA. Conference realignment played a big role in her decision.
It is a pretty major concern as the Cardinal joins the ACC next year.
Brink, who is projected to be drafted as high as No. 2 overall later this month, was named as the nation’s best defensive player for the second year in a row. The 6-foot-4 big accomplished most everything during her impressive and well-decorated college career except for a national title.
Thus, there was thought that Brink may try to run it back. She did not.
Multiple different factors went into her decision. None played a greater role than the new reality for Stanford athletics.
Cameron Brink explains why she left Stanford. "I don't want to travel across the country" was one of the reasons cited.
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 6, 2024
That's a definite byproduct of Stanford's move to the ACC. pic.twitter.com/hudKN6Xdg1
To be a student at one of the most prestigious universities in the country is not easy. To add a sport and all that it demands on top of the academic grind is even more challenging.
It gets even more exhausting when travel is involved.
As a member of the Pac-12, the Cardinal rarely had to travel further east than Colorado. As a member of the ACC, Stanford will frequently travel to the East Coast. A trip to Boston College, for example, requires a flight of 2,691 miles for just one road game.
Academics, plus athletics, plus cross-country travel on a consistent basis is a lot.
Brink explained that all of the elements combined was a big deterrent when it came to a fifth year. She was not interested in such a busy and stressful lifestyle when the WNBA was also an option.
This is a significant byproduct of conference realignment. There will be athletes, like Brink, who do not want to deal with the exhausting lifestyle of a student-athlete who plays for a school in California that competes on the other end of the country.