The name Richie Saunders and BYU basketball are synonymous among the BYU fanbase.
After suffering a season-ending injury that ended his generational senior season, Saunders is facing the most challenging period of his life thus far.
But where others would waver, he has only grown more confident and has worked harder than ever to get back on track to achieving his dreams.
“I want people to see that they can achieve their dreams if they work hard. At the end of the day that's what I want my story to be,” said Saunders.
That story started years ago when Saunders was young.
“He’s always been a focused mind,” said his father Rich, “so when he had a task at hand, he was dialed.”
Growing up, Saunders played various sports, but he excelled in baseball and basketball. However, to his parents' surprise, in the eighth grade he suddenly left the world of baseball behind and put his entire focus into basketball.
He started doing early morning workouts and running drills. When he didn’t get something right, he would do it again and again, his unwavering determination to be the best pushing him forward.
“He had this vision to play at BYU, and he was focused on it and he had made the commitment to do whatever it would take to make that come to pass,” said Rich.
His focus and grit landed him a spot on the BYU basketball team, a dream come true. But it wasn’t enough for him to just make the team. He wanted to be a starter and impact player on the court.
So the grind began once again, this time fighting to earn minutes. Soon he was making an impact on the court. Then he became a starter and began to grow in popularity both on and off the court.
Having grown up in Utah, he quickly became a focal point in the BYU community. His “home-grown BYU guy” persona gave him a special connection with fans.
His special connection with fans created a unique platform built on both faith and basketball. He started speaking to the local youth, serving the community and fulfilling his goal of bringing light to the world.
“That’s not a responsibility that I take lightly,” acknowledged Saunders. “I can remember saying as a kid I want to be an influence for good and asking God to let me be an influence for good.”
According to his mother Lisa, the weight of that responsibility has been evident through his interactions with fans.
Before BYU’s contest against Baylor, which would turn out to be Saunders’ last full game, a young BYU fan was doing everything he could to meet him.
However, when the boy was told by event staff that he wasn’t allowed to interact with the players, he was in tears.
Seeing what had happened, Saunders snuck over to the stands so that the young boy could give him a hug.
While talking to his parents, Lisa proudly displayed a letter from the young fan, detailing his gratitude for her son’s kindness. For Lisa, it was physical evidence of her son’s impact on the lives of others.
“I think Richie does a really good job of ministering to the one and taking time with people to give them their moment,” said his wife, Sierra. “There’s plenty of times that Richie’s gone and done visits at a hospital or sent a package to someone he doesn’t even know.”
His dream of playing basketball for BYU and being an influence for good had become a reality.
But then, Saunders’ life was flipped on its head.
“It was truly devastating, we felt like we had been punched in the gut. Even to this day I have a hard time talking about it without almost tearing up every single time,” admitted his father.
After chasing a ball out of bounds in the opening minutes of a home game against Colorado, Saunders fell to the ground, clutching his knee. The arena fell silent in shock. Saunders was helped up and taken to the locker room.
He did not return to the court.
Saunders suffered a torn ACL, one of the most devastating and deflating injuries an athlete can face. It was in the locker room afterwards that the true weight of the injury was felt by Saunders and his family.
“He just felt like everything he had worked so hard for was taken away,” said Lisa, “he kept saying, ‘I was almost there, I was almost there.’”
Years of morning workouts, endlessly repeating drills and dedicating his entire life to basketball seemed to be all for not. Everything that Saunders had ever worked for was in his grasp, and it had slipped away.
But, in the most harrowing period of Saunders’ life, he has fallen back on what he has always known.
“'Work with faith' is our slogan,” he said. “I’m learning that even in hard times it could be worse.”
For him nothing has changed. His dreams are still within his grasp. All those years of dedication weren’t pointless, they were preparing him for moments like this.
“If I can give my all and work as hard as I can," Richie said, "with the faith that God will sustain those efforts, then we’ll be able to reach our dreams and achieve the plan that God needs us too.”