Richie Saunders's BYU Career Comes to Heartbreaking End After Torn ACL

He suffered the injury early in the first half of Saturday's overtime win over Colorado.

Saunders has spent the last four years with the Cougars. | Aaron Baker-Imagn Images

Richie Saunders on Sunday announced he tore his ACL during BYU’s overtime win over Colorado on Saturday, an injury that will end his season and, effectively, his college career. The senior guard confirmed the Cougars’ fears in a post onto his account on Instagram.

“Unfortunate news last night—I tore my ACL, ending my season,” Saunders wrote in the post. “Thank you for all the thoughts and prayers. They mean more than you know. To end my BYU career like this is heartbreaking.

“I’ve loved every moment and every challenge that came with representing the school I love. These past four years have shaped who I am—on and off the court. Cougar Nation, thank you. Through the ups and downs, you’ve stuck with me. I’ll never forget that.”

Saunders suffered the injury just 45 seconds into the Cougars’ 90-86 win over the Buffaloes, when the senior guard fell to the ground awkwardly after a drive-and-kick. Athletic trainers helped Saunders to his feet, but he was able to walk off the court under his own power.

BYU coach Kevin Young told reporters after the game that he had no update on Saunders, but spoke to the tangible impact the injury had on his program for the remainder of the contest.

“...I think it sucked the life out of the gym, if I’m being honest,” Young said. “You never want to see an injury to any player, but definitely [not] to someone who’s the heart and soul of our team [and] bleeds BYU blue. Just didn’t like seeing it.”

Saunders largely came off the bench during his first two seasons with the Cougars, then rose to starting status during a 2024-25 campaign that saw him earn All-Big 12 honors while being named the conference’s Most Improved Player.

Saunders continued his stellar play into this season, as he was BYU’s second-leading scorer behind freshman prodigy AJ Dybantsa. Seemingly on the outskirts of the NBA draft conversation entering the season, Saunders played his way into the picture, particularly following a 33-point, 10-rebound eruption in a January loss against then-14th-ranked Kansas in which multiple NBA general managers were present.

The Cougars will turn to backup guards Aleksej Kostic and Tyler Mrus, each of whom picked up the slack in Saunders’s absence, the rest of the season.

Meanwhile, Saunders’s pro basketball aspirations seem unchanged, despite the devastating injury.

“My story has never been one of ease,” Saunders wrote. “And while I didn’t plan for this, my career is not over. I will return with more fight and grit than before. My goals haven’t changed. I don’t always understand why things happen the way they do, but I trust that God is in the details. I trust His plan.”

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