Richie Saunders is back. On Saturday evening, BYU star Richie Saunders announced his plans to return to BYU for his senior season. Saunders was BYU’s leading scorer last season and the most important player on a BYU team that went to the Sweet 16.
Saunders was weighing the opportunity to declare for the NBA Draft. The deadline to declare is 4/26/25 (Saturday night), so Saunders arrived at a decision and his decision will bring him back to BYU.
Saunders was named the Big 12’s most improved player following the season after averaging 16.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game. Saunders was one of the most efficient high-level scorers in the country, shooting 52% from the field and 43% from three. He was also named to the Big 12 First Team All-Conference team.
Pairing Saunders alongside AJ Dybansta, Rob Wright, and Kennard Davis Jr will give BYU perhaps the best offense in college basketball season. All three of Wright, Davis, and Saunders averaged double digit scoring last season and Dybansta might be the best scorer among them as the nation’s top recruit.
With Saunders back, BYU will likely go into the 2025-2026 season as a preseason top 10 team. It’s likely that this will be the most anticipated season in the history of the BYU basketball season.
Saunders is the perfect player to pair alongside Rob Wright and AJ Dybansta. Both Wright and Dybansta will be able to create offense and Saunders will benefit from more open looks than he enjoyed last season. In 2024-2025, Saunders was the top player on the opposition’s scouting report. In 2025-2026, Saunders will be one of many weapons that opposing defenses have to account for.
Saunders could go down as one of the best to ever do it at BYU. He has a chance to do something no other player has ever done before: lead BYU to the Sweet 16 twice.
Returning production is extremely valuable in college basketball. Getting the most important player back from a Sweet 16 run is notable. Given the players that BYU has added around Saunders, the Cougars have a chance to be one of the best teams in college basketball.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
