Richie Saunders has made up his mind.
BYU’s star forward will return to the Cougars for his senior year, he announced in a social media post Saturday.
In his first season as a primary starter, Saunders broke out in scoring 16.5 points per game, grabbing 4.5 rebounds and shooting 43.2% from 3-point range to earn All-Big 12 First Team honors.
In the NCAA Tournament, Saunders averaged 22 points across three contests while shooting 59.5% from the field to lead BYU into the Sweet 16 for just the third time ever in the seeding era.
With Saunders’ return, not only do the Cougars bring back their top performer from the 2024-25 campaign, but they could have one of the best starting fives in the country for the coming season.
Incumbent starters Saunders and Keba Keita will be joined by highly-touted transfer guards Robert Wright III and Kennard Davis — along with top high school prospect AJ Dybantsa — to headline a BYU squad that should be expected to compete for a Big 12 championship and lengthy NCAA Tournament stay.