Richards broke into professional baseball with the Pheasants last year serving as a backup catcher. Despite the limited playing time, he was productive. He had two hits in his first professional game and hit safely in 14 of 25 games played. Richards previously attended Indiana Tech University, where he put up monumental numbers in 2009.  He batted .392 and belted 12 home runs in 55 games. He recorded 19 multi-hit games and averaged more than one run, one hit and one RBI per game last season. His 65 RBI placed him in the top 40 of all Division I NAIA hitters.