Here’s what BYU stars Richie Saunders, Egor Demin said about their plans for next season

Newark, N.J. • Alabama guard Mark Sears’ face was still taped to the wall of BYU’s locker room well after the onslaught ended.

Outside the doors, Sears was busy celebrating his 34-point barrage, in which he buried 10 triples and the Cougars’ magical run with them. As he walked past BYU’s quarters with television reporter Andy Katz, Sears remarked that the rim “felt like an ocean.”

It was around that time an assistant coach figured he should take down the photo, which labeled Sears as someone the Cougars needed to contest every look.

So much for that.

He hit more threes in a single game than Steph Curry at Davidson, the most since 1990 when Jeff Fryer banged 11.

“Early on we wanted to make him prove it,” guard Dallin Hall said on why BYU decided to go under screens on Spears. “Credit to him. He did. It took us a little too long to adjust.”

And so the Cougars’ season ends.

The first Sweet 16 run since 2011 finished bitterly, with a 113-88 loss.

Now, with the transfer portal open, it’s already on to 2026.

“We want to establish ourselves as a team, year after year, making runs like this and going even farther,” BYU head coach Kevin Young said. “We want to be the last team standing in this tournament. And it’s really hard to do, obviously, but that’s our goal. And I think in year one, we’ve got a pretty good foundation of our identity of how we want to play.”

But who will be a part of that identity next year is the question.

“It’s on me and our coaches to continue to recruit, identify and try to bring in players that can help us continue to push this thing to a level that BYU has never seen before,” Young said.

The one player that will undoubtedly be part of the future is No. 1 recruit AJ Dybantsa. He was in Newark to watch BYU play. The next time he attends a Cougar game, he will be starting. That is a given.

After that, there are question marks everywhere on this roster.

Richie Saunders could opt to stay or try his hand at the NBA. Egor Demin, same thing.

And the role players are also in doubt, like Hall and even Kanon Catchings.

As for Demin, he knows Dybantsa will be the focal point next year. Playing alongside a potential top draft pick in the NBA is enticing, he said. But at the same time, Demin is likely a top-15 pick in this year’s NBA draft and knows that could change if he returns. He put together a strong tournament, showing he could be an improved shooter. He had 15 points against Alabama.

“I’m not trying to think about it yet. It was probably 15 minutes after the game,” Demin said. He added, “AJ is coming, and he could be one of the reasons why I want be back next year.”

Young said he won’t pitch Demin to stay, but would be happy to see him return.

“I think those are really calculated decisions,” Young said. “He’s got a great support team in his corner. That stuff’s very personal, also very situational. I’ll try to lend some advice to him as best I can. Give him my NBA connections and so forth. Try to make sure he understands how they view him, where they view him.”

Young joked that Demin told him he’d stay at BYU for 10 years.

“I was like, just give me four,” Young said, laughing. “That just kind of speaks to how much he’s really embraced the community. Whether he goes to the NBA or comes back, I will be rooting for that kid forever.”

Catchings, BYU’s 6-foot-9 freshman who fell out of the rotation, deferred on his choice for next year. He could enter the transfer portal and look for a place where he would play more.

“I’m not sure, whatever happens happens,” he told The Salt Lake Tribune. “I don’t know.”

Catchings said Young’s been harping on his defense as an area he needs to improve to get more time, and he acknowledged the lack of playing did affect him at times.

“Not recently, because the team is winning,” he said of whether his playing time has been difficult. “It’s had its ups and downs. But keep working and good things will come.”

Hall said he needs more time to figure out his plans. He started his first two years but came off the bench in 2025. He would likely come off the bench next year if he returns.

“On that question, I don’t have a set answer for you yet. I can only just tell you I loved my time here and I’ve got to evaluate everything,” he told The Tribune.

As for what will go into that decision, Hall declined to say.

“That is for down the line. For now, just appreciate the season,” Hall said. “We’ve had a lot of good times together. We’ve had a lot of lows together. To get BYU back to the Sweet 16 is a testament to where this program is heading. And a testament to the guys who were in the locker room.”

And the most interesting decision will be Saunders. He could possibly go late in the second round of the draft, or land in the G League somewhere. He could also return for a hefty payday. He emerged as an NBA prospect this year and a first-team All-Big 12 player.

“It is time to start thinking about it now,” Saunders told The Tribune. He acknowledged before this year, he didn’t know if he was an NBA player. But Young has raised his sights.

As the night ended, Young reflected on the team that just ended his season. He remarked that if Alabama shot that well again, they would beat almost anybody.

“I just told [Alabama coach Nate Oats], ‘Man, go win the whole thing.’ He was like, ‘The way we shot it tonight, maybe we will,‘” Young joked.

But on a serious note, he saw how Oats took Alabama to heights it’s never seen before. This is a third-straight Sweet 16 for the Tide and another Elite Eight. They went to the Final Four last year.

That’s what Young wants for his program.

“He’s taken it to levels they’ve never been to before, which is what I’m trying to do here,” he said.

It’s just a matter of who he will do it with.

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