It shouldn’t surprise anyone to learn that Richie Saunders’ first basket at BYU was the result of his first steal. The 6-foot-5, newly returned missionary stole the ball and scored a layup with 6:50 remaining in the first half against Idaho State on Nov. 7, 2022.
It was one of Saunders’ 133 steals over the next four seasons. He also scored 1,544 points and grabbed 522 rebounds in 128 games. His BYU story is loaded with exciting chapters and bookended by tremendous joy and agonizing pain.
Just moments into the Cougars’ game against Colorado on Feb. 10, Saunders landed awkwardly and tore the ACL in his right knee, bringing his college career to an abrupt end. Mending from surgery, Saunders will return to the bench Saturday for his Senior Night when BYU hosts No. 10 Texas Tech (8:30 p.m. MST, ESPN).
He won’t play, but head coach Kevin Young hopes his presence will inspire the same effort the Cougars showed two weeks ago when Saunders cheered them on to a 79-69 upset of No. 6 Iowa State. Without their glue-guy around, BYU has come unglued and lost three straight games in disappointing fashion.
Saunders has proven to mean so much more than points and rebounds to the Cougar program. In an era where it’s hard to find a star senior who has been shining at the same school his entire career, Saunders glistens. He is BYU and is the only player on record to choose the Cougars three times.
As a young boy, he dreamt about it. As a teenager at Riverton High and Wasatch Academy, he prepared for it, and following his mission to Seattle, he prayed about it — and jumped at the opportunity to play for the Cougars.
Following his sophomore season, which ended with head coach Mark Pope exiting Provo for Kentucky, Saunders withstood the luring from his former coach. He withdrew from the transfer portal and chose to stay at BYU and play for Young and the new staff.
To everyone’s surprise, except for him and his wife Sierra, Saunders elevated his game so significantly that he earned First Team All-Big 12 and Most Improved Player honors following his junior season. Again, with NBA possibilities dangling in front of him, he chose to stay at BYU to, as he wrote on his Instagram account, “Finish what we started.”
The ride Saunders has been on is what dreams are made of — even with the nightmare finish that brought an end to what he started four years ago. Bolstered by a knee brace, Saunders now stands as a senior statesman. Everybody is gone from that first roster except for teammate Jared McGregor and director of sports medicine Robert Ramos.
Saunders is a survivor, a warrior, a kind-hearted soul with a hankering for marketing Tater Tots. He dazzled crowds with his relentless hustle and bedazzled opponents with reverse layups they couldn’t stop, and 3-point shots they struggled to defend.
Admittedly, his faith-first approach has anchored him through all the ups and downs, including the current one, and his NIL compensation appropriately buffers his future, whether he keeps playing basketball or not.
A packed Marriott Center will celebrate Saunders’ career Saturday night when public address announcer Trace Eddington calls his name one more time. A standing ovation is sure to come when Saunders and his wife gingerly make their way to midcourt to embrace his coach, school president Shane Reese and athletic director Brian Santiago.
His BYU journey is complete, but just like a classic rock band, Saunders’ greatest hits will last forever.
Sinking Arizona
(Feb. 22, 2025)
A layup by Saunders with 41 seconds remaining gave BYU a 94-90 lead at No. 19 Arizona. The Wildcats countered with the next 5 points, putting the Cougars on the brink of a heartbreaking defeat.
With the ball and a last chance, Saunders drove to the basket and drew a questionable foul. Three seconds remained as he stood on the line. Arizona’s verbal resistance was deafening. They were yelling at the official who made the call and at Saunders, who was about to make them pay for it.
The junior, who finished with 23 points, hit the first shot to tie the game and then he drilled the second to win it for BYU 96-95.
Heartland hero
(March 4, 2025)
Rolling into Ames, Iowa, as an underdog, Saunders and the Cougars took their swing at No. 10 Iowa State and dropped them to the canvas in double overtime 88-85. Saunders scored 23 points, including 13 for 13 from the free-throw line.
Two of his foul shots gave BYU a 68-66 lead with 17 seconds remaining in overtime. The Cyclones tied the score and had a chance to win the game, but Saunders stole the ball with one second remaining.
In the second overtime, Saunders hit a shot with 3:44 to play to give BYU an 83-79 lead and the Cougars held on from there for their first win at Hilton Coliseum.
Rinse and repeat
(March 13, 2025)
Nine days later, in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament in Kansas City, Saunders riddled No. 12 Iowa State for another 23 points, and the Cougars beat the Cyclones again 96-92.
Saunders hit a 3-point shot with 49 seconds remaining to give the Cougars a 92-88 lead. Seconds later, he blocked the 3-point attempt by Cyclones sharp shooter Milan Momcilovic and with seven seconds to play, Saunders hit two free throws to put the game out of reach.
March Madness
(March 22, 2025)
Saunders scored 25 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead No. 17 BYU past No. 13 Wisconsin 91-89 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Saunders broke a 2-2 tie with a 3-point shot 55 seconds into the game to give the Cougars a lead they would never lose.
Late in the game, with the Badgers making a charge, Saunders hit two free throws with 1:25 to play to extend BYU’s lead to 91-83. The win put the Cougars into the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2011, when Saunders was a 10-year-old boy dreaming of one day doing just that.
Badgering the Badgers
(Nov. 21, 2025)
In a rematch at the Delta Center last November, Saunders picked up where he left off at the Big Dance and blistered No. 23 Wisconsin for 26 points and seven rebounds. He hit a 3-pointer with 16:31 left in the first half to give BYU an 8-6 lead. Saunders hit another one a few seconds later and the 98-70 blowout was on.
Near perfection
(Jan. 7, 2026)
Saunders scored 31 points in BYU’s 104-76 victory against Arizona State at the Marriott Center. In an impressive display of shooting, Saunders was 10 for 13 from the field, 6 of 8 from 3 and 5 for 5 at the foul line. He also grabbed eight rebounds and dished out three assists.
Arizona State will be happy to see Saunders graduate. In their three games against BYU as members of the Big 12, the Sun Devils are 0-3 and, in those battles, Saunders combined for 87 points, including 18 3-pointers.
Beating Utah
(Jan. 10, 2026)
In his last chance to beat rival Utah at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City, Saunders scored 24 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead the Cougars to an 89-84 victory. His two free throws with eight seconds left sealed the win.
Career night
(Jan. 31, 2026)
Saunders biggest night as a Cougar happened 1,100 miles away from Provo in the land where basketball began — Lawrence, Kansas, at the storied Allen Fieldhouse. With the rest of the team struggling, Saunders turned in a night for the ages in a 90-82 loss at No. 14 Kansas.
The senior made 11 of 19 shots, including six 3-pointers. He also grabbed 10 rebounds while playing a team-high 38:57 minutes. Just as he had done throughout his career, Saunders left it all out on the floor.
BYU will continue to attract top talents to play basketball, but as for finding another Richie Saunders — a four-year loyalist with the motor of a 4-year-old after a nap — that’s going to be tough to do.
Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com and is the author of the children’s book “C is for Cougar,” available at deseretbook.com.