Memphis Grizzlies select BYU’s Richie Saunders with 32nd pick
Jun 24, 2026, 6:35 PM | Updated: Jun 25, 2026, 12:18 pm
PROVO, UT - DECEMBER 13: Richie Saunders #15 of the Brigham Young Cougars works around Andrew Henderson #12 of the University of California Riverside Highlanders during the first half of their game at the Marriott Center on December 13, 2025 in Provo, Utah. (Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
(Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
PROVO, Utah – Richie Saunders arrived at BYU as a local guard with a shooter’s reputation and a long runway. He leaves Provo as an All-Big 12 standout, one of the most efficient scorers in program history, and now, a second-round pick of the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2026 NBA Draft.
The Grizzlies took Saunders 32nd overall with the second pick of the second round, betting on a proven shot-maker who steadily improved while at BYU.
RELATED: BYU’s Kevin Young gives update on NBA draft hopeful Richie Saunders
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For Memphis, Saunders represents the kind of second-round swing contending teams love to take: a 6-foot-5 guard with size, shooting, college production, and a track record of improving every year.
For BYU, his selection is another marker of the program’s growth under Kevin Young, whose NBA-style system helped turn Saunders from a rotation piece into one of the Big 12’s most dangerous perimeter scorers.
Kevin Young, during the NBA draft combine, gives an update on BYU basketball star Richie Saunders, who is working his way back from an ACL injury. pic.twitter.com/tZUPXSxhQc
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) May 12, 2026
The 2025 First Team All-Big 12 guard and 2025 Big 12 Most Improved Player was twice named NABC First Team All-District (2025, 2026), cementing his place as one of the league’s most efficient guards.
His senior season was cut short after 25 games by a torn ACL, but the injury did little to erase the body of work he had already built.
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Who is Richie Saunders?
Richie Saunders is a homegrown talent who began his prep career at Riverton before becoming a three-star recruit during two seasons at Wasatch Academy.
He was named the 2020 Best of State Male Athlete in Utah before serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The 6-foot-5 guard joined BYU as a freshman for the 2022-23 season, averaging 5.5 points and 2.4 rebounds while shooting 45 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from beyond the arc.
The following year, Saunders bumped his scoring average to 9.6 points per game.
He started just three of the 68 games he played during his first two seasons in Provo.
2026 AWS NBA Draft Combine anthro measurements for BYU’s Richie Saunders:
6’5” barefoot, 204.8 pounds with a 6’8 ¾” wingspan and 8’6 ½” standing reach pic.twitter.com/RT4Vy6lg5U
— Jon Chepkevich (@JonChep) May 12, 2026
Then Kevin Young arrived, and Saunders’ game found another gear in BYU’s NBA-style offense.
He started all 35 games as a junior and became a trusted leader on the court and in the Cougar locker room.
The leap was hard to miss: Saunders shot 51.8 percent from the field and 43.2 percent from three while his scoring average soared to 16.5 points per night.
With Saunders leading the way, BYU earned a No. 6 seed in the 2025 NCAA Tournament and reached the Sweet 16 before falling to second-seeded Alabama.
RICHIE TO MEMPHIS! pic.twitter.com/FYst7asGbK
— BYU Men’s Basketball (@BYUMBB) June 25, 2026
By the time he returned as a senior, Saunders had become a household name across the Big 12, averaging 18 points per game while playing Robin to AJ Dybantsa’s Batman through 25 games.
He leaves BYU having averaged 12.1 points while shooting 50.2 percent from the floor and 38.7 percent from deep across 128 games, including 63 starts.
Saunders’ legacy will live on in BYU’s record book. His name appears in the top 20 in 12 program categories and in the top 12 in five of them.
- 5th most five 3-pointer games (10)
- 8th in career 3-point field goals made (205)
- 8th in career 3-point field goal attempts (530)
- 9th most career three-pointer games (30)
- 12th in career steals (133)
Away from the court, Saunders has one of the more unique backstories in college basketball: he is the great-grandson of Nephi Grigg, the inventor of the tater tot.
I love Richie Saunders. When he appeared on my podcast, he discussed his recovery from a torn ACL and said when he returns to the court he’s most looking forward to using a swim move on an opponent to crash the offensive glass. That mentality sums him up. A total maniac on the… https://t.co/s77NkCehNV pic.twitter.com/vBq9iVy9QM
— Kevin O’Connor (@KevinOConnor) June 25, 2026
Saunders projects as an NBA role player, but his shooting touch, size, and steady development give him a clear path to becoming an elite shot-maker on a playoff team.
From Riverton to Wasatch Academy to the Marriott Center and now the home of the blues in Memphis, Saunders’ path has never been about flash. It has been about steady growth, timely shooting, and proving there is still room in the NBA for players who simply keep getting better.
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Brian Preece is a sports.ksl.com insider covering Locals in MLB and the Salt Lake Bees. Follow Brian’s Bees and Beehive baseball here. Find Brian on X, Instagram, and BlueSky at @bpreece24.
