Richards impressed during his brief time with the 2019 DeLand Suns, pitching five scoreless innings over two appearances. The Suns were victorious in both of his appearances before he had to debut to attend to his USAFA duties. Before signing with the Air Force Academy, Richards played at Plant High School in Tampa, where he was the staff ace on a district championship team. Richards was listed by Perfect Game USA as one of the top 25 righthanded pitchers in Florida for the Class of 2017, and was ranked among the top 100 players overall.