Kentucky transfer target Richie Saunders is having big year at BYU

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Jan 18, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Brigham Young Cougars forward Richie Saunders (15) lays the ball up during overtime at Jon M. Huntsman Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Jaxson Robinson and Collin Chandler (high school signee) were the only BYU players to follow Mark Pope to Kentucky. However, they were not the only ones that Pope wanted to bring with him. The Cats made a big push for Richie Saunders.

The wing (6-5, 200) averaged 9.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.1 assists in 20.7 minutes per game on .523/.364/.712 shooting splits as a sophomore bench player under Pope. Richie Saunders entered the transfer portal in April and visited Kentucky one week later. All signs pointed to Kentucky adding the Big 12 transfer.

But Saunders decided to stay in Provo after taking a long time to think about the decision.

“I love BYU. I’ve been the kid at the top of the bleachers in the Marriott Center looking down, just praying and wanting so badly for BYU to win. I’ve been there,” Saunders said. “I just didn’t know if that’s where God needed us to be. That right there alone, it was really, really hard. Thinking about having to start somewhere else and move our lives, all of those little details.”

That has been a big development for BYU basketball.

Playing for new head coach Kevin Young, Richie Saunders is having a career year as a junior. The wing is playing some small ball four for the Cougars and is posting career highs in minutes (27.8), points (14.9), and three-point field goal percentage (45.2%). Saunders is currently in the top 100 nationally in offensive rating and ranks second in the Big 12 in three-point field goal percentage (50% on 48 attempts) in conference games only. The usage has gone up and the production has followed.

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been that guy pic.twitter.com/ywmZxtTe9t
— BYU Men's Basketball (@BYUMBB) January 27, 2025

Saunders has gone for 20-plus points in consecutive conference wins against Colorado and Cincinnati. The junior scored 26 points in a Big 12 road loss to TCU and 30 points in a win over Arizona State. The veteran has arguably been BYU’s most consistent player this season.

The Cougars (13-6, 4-4) are in bubble territory. If this Big 12 program gets enough win to earn an at-large bid, Richie Saunders would be a big reason why. With injuries starting to pile up for Kentucky, having a player with the versatility of Saunders would be a nice bonus right now.