TATER TOT HEIR RICHIE SAUNDERS ON MEMPHIS G LEAGUE ROSTER
Richie Saunders, the BYU guard whose great-grandfather created the Tater Tot, was drafted 32nd overall by the Memphis Grizzlies on June 24, 2026, and by October 25 he was on the roster of their G League affiliate. He is recovering from a torn ACL, and he had gone unsigned for months after the draft.
Saunders was the second Cougar to hear his name called in Brooklyn. Teammate AJ Dybantsa went first overall to the Washington Wizards, BYU Athletics reported. BYU says it was the first time since 1984 that more than one Cougar was picked in the same draft.
The potato connection is real. BYU’s roster page lists Saunders as the great-grandson of Ore-Ida founder and Tater Tot creator Nephi Grigg.
“Richie is a player we think is a strong identity fit with this group on and off the court,” Grizzlies general manager Zach Kleiman said, Deseret News reported. Saunders said the Grizzlies welcomed him “with open arms.”
From Ore-Richie to a torn ACL
Kleiman had said after the first round that Memphis would listen to offers for the No. 32 pick, Yahoo Sports reported. The team kept it and took Saunders, who joined a draft class that also included Cameron Boozer and Karim Lopez.
The Riverton native played all four years at BYU and finished with 1,544 points in 128 games, 17th in program history. He also made the eighth-most three-pointers in school history, according to BYU. As a senior he averaged 18.8 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists, and he scored a career-high 33 at Kansas.
He was the Big 12’s Most Improved Player of the Year in 2024-25. During BYU’s run to its first Sweet Sixteen, he averaged 22.0 points per game and shot 100 percent from the free-throw line.
Then came February 2026, when he tore his ACL against Colorado. The Commercial Appeal wrote that the injury likely hurt his draft position and that he would probably miss the start of the NBA season.
The same outlet pointed out that Memphis has a decent record with second-rounders, having developed GG Jackson, Jaylen Wells and Cam Spencer into rotation-caliber players.
Then there is the potato angle. Saunders signed an NIL deal with Ore-Ida at BYU, and during the Cougars’ 2025 NCAA Tournament run the company briefly changed its name to Ore-Richie as part of the marketing push. The Commercial Appeal joked that Tater Tots might start showing up around FedExForum, a quip that was the outlet’s own and not a reaction from the team or fans.
Unsigned, then sent to the Hustle
In September, Kleiman said Saunders was progressing in his rehab.
“He is attacking his ACL recovery and continues to progress well,” Kleiman said. “We’ll be smart with his case, and we’re excited to have him join us once we get to that point in time.”
At media day, Kleiman said, “It’s wait and see in terms of what exactly his onboarding is going to look like.” Deseret News reported that all signs pointed to a deal eventually getting done, and that a two-way contract was one way for Memphis to keep him without using a standard roster spot. Five players from the 2026 draft were still unsigned as of October 6. The other four had gone overseas or back to college.
CBS Sports reported that Saunders remained unsigned as the regular season approached while Memphis worked through a roster crunch.
On October 25, 2026, the Grizzlies announced Saunders was on the Memphis Hustle’s training-camp roster, Hoops Rumors reported. That indicated he would begin the 2026-27 season with the team’s G League affiliate and suggested he had signed a G League contract. Hoops Rumors noted the Grizzlies already had 15 standard-contract players and all three two-way slots filled.
