Eastern Washington University Athletics

2021-22: Redshirted his first season at Eastern Washington.

David Riley on Richards: “Makai’s combination of size, athleticism, and skill will be tough to stop in the Big Sky. Makai has a great mindset on development, and the sky is the limit for him as a basketball player.”
 
High School: Graduated from Oak Park High School in 2020. In the 2019-20 season, Richards was selected to the Los Angeles Daily News All-Area second team. He averaged a double-double with 10.3 points and 11.7 rebounds per game, and also averaged 4.0 blocks and 1.3 assists. He had eight double-doubles, and his top scoring game was 20 and the most boards was 13. He made 59 percent of his shots from the field and had a high game of 10 blocks. The Eagles finished the season 27-3 and won the Coastal Canyon League title with a 10-0 record. Oak Park had a 22-game winning streak during the year and advanced to the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division 2AA Tournament. As a junior in 2018-19, he averaged 5.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocks, with two double-doubles. He had a career-high 19 boards in one game and made 49 percent of his shots. The Eagles advanced to the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division 1 Tournament and finished 18-11. He also played 10 games as a sophomore and 20 as a freshman, and closed his 85-game career with 553 rebounds (6.5 per game), 445 points (5,2) and 165 blocks (1.9) while making 55 percent of his shots from the field. Was coached in high school by Aaron Shaw. Also played AAU basketball for the Cali Starts and BTI Hoops.
 
Personal: Intends on majoring in entrepreneurship at EWU. Born 10/19/01 in Los Angeles. Parents are Godfrey and Kellen Richards. His older brother, Ezekiel Richards, is now a junior at Northern Arizona after spending three seasons in Santa Clara’s program. First name is pronounced “Muh-kie.”