WA under-20 soccer player of the year Charlie Betts Jnr is one of a growing number of former South West Academy of Sport athletes whose talent has opened the door to opportunities on and off the sports field through a US college scholarship.

The WA Premier Leagues star has been added to the honour roll of young South West sports men and women who have secured places at US colleges after Milligan University announced the Leschenault resident as its newest recruit.

The 19-year-old Leschenault labourer will now have a chance to pursue both earning a degree while playing the world game at a high level at the Tennessee-based university.

Betts Jnr said he plans on studying psychology while pushing himself at soccer for Milligan, which is known as a powerhouse in the US college sports system.

“I’m looking forward to soccer and study integrating nicely,” Betts Jnr said.

“Both of them are really important to me.”

The scholarship is the latest development for the exciting forward.

In October, the Bunbury Catholic College graduate’s standout efforts on the field for Bayswater City led to him being crowned NPL WA U20 Player of the Year at the WA Football Awards.

Betts Jnr was part of the WA under-16 team which travelled to China in 2017 to compete in the Jinshan International Youth Football Cup.