After playing a key role as a freshman on a West Valley team that finished fifth in the Class 4A state tournament, Austin Birley already is garnering the attention of college recruiters.

Birley, a 6-foot-4 wing, was offered a scholarship Monday by Colorado State, which will join the Pac-12 next fall.

It’s a school quite familiar to the family. Katie (Borton) Birley and Andy Birley, Austin’s mother and father, played four years at CSU. His mother also was a standout at West Valley while his father played at Battle Ground High School in the Vancouver, Wash., area.

The two met while playing for the collegiate Rams.

Birley averaged more than 8 points a contest and was an honorable mention all-defensive selection as a ninth-grader,

West Valley, which has won the last two CBBN district championships, figures to be the conference favorite this winter.

The Rams graduated the program’s all-time leading scorer Landen Birley, Austin’s brother who is now at Idaho State.

They do return first-team all-league post Parker Mills (17.2 ppg a season ago), second-teamer Parker Hill (10.6) and Jett Bremerman (6.6).

Jrayden Whitfield, the son of Rams coach Tyson Whitfield, also is expected to contribute as a freshman.