BYU Cougars star Richie Saunders suffered a season-ending torn ACL while playing against Colorado on Saturday. It was just 45 seconds into the game when the injury took place. With no eligibility remaining, the BYU senior’s college basketball career has come to an end.
Before we bid goodbye to Saunders from the college basketball world, let’s learn about his family, especially his parents.
Who Are Richie Saunders’ Parents?
Richie Saunders was born to Rich and Lisa Saunders. His father played college basketball at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis), and was the one who introduced the BYU star to the sport at a young age. Meanwhile, his mother showed strong support throughout his growing up, besides his sisters. Richies grew up in Riverton, Utah, with his parents and four older sisters.
Moreover, Richie is also the great-grandson of Ore-Ida founder and inventor of the Tater Tot F. Nephi Grigg. He even signed with the company on an NIL deal in 2025. Richie’s grandmother, Delma Grigg Saunders, was the firstborn of F. Nephi Grigg. The NIL partnership between the two was announced in March.
“We’re teaming up with basketball hotshot Richie Saunders, the great-grandson of Ore-Ida founder and inventor of Tater Tots, to give away free tots if Richie’s team wins today,” the company wrote. “If they win, the countdown for our 30-minute ‘Tot Clock’ will begin at the link in our IG bio post-game.”
Richie has previously mentioned that his father shaped his basketball career. He revealed that getting up early with his father at around 5:00-5:30 am taught him a great deal about discipline.
“Every morning at 5:00 or 5:30, we’d be training at the church,” he said via Macu.com. “Now, two decades later, he’s still a big part of looking at the game and thinking about different actions and strategies. He’s still huge for me.”
He also mentions that his family helped him decide to pick one from baseball and basketball.
“I grew up playing baseball, and I had to make the decision to really focus on basketball,” he added. “My family is a big basketball family, and they kind of nudged me to make that switch.”
With his season-ending injury, Saunders ends his career with BYU with over 1,500 points in 128 games.
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