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Minnesota United on Thursday officially announced the signing of their second "homegrown" player, former Wayzata High School star Patrick Weah.

The 6-1 forward was state champion his sophomore year and a runner-up his freshman year as well in three seasons there. He played in the Loons' development academy his senior year of high school in 2019 and most recently played three games for Saint Louis University in February after he signed last summer to play there.

Weah, 17, signed a four-year contract with a club option for a fifth year, the club said in a statement. It is believed to average a little less than $100,000 a season.

Loons coach Adrian Heath said the signing shows "we are committed to the youth development."

Born in Liberia, he came to Minneapolis in 2011 with his mother and two brothers after his grandparents had won a visa lottery in the early 2000s that helped clear them to come.

"He's very, very naturally gifted," Loons coach Adrian Heath said in a phone interview. "He's very inexperienced, young. One thing he does have is natural raw ability. He's very, very strong and powerful, has pace and a lot of raw potential. Now it's up to us to refine that and start to help him learn the game. A natural footballer, which he is, but he's needs to learn the game and what's expected."

The Loons signed St. Paul goalkeeper Fred Emmings before last season as their first homegrown player raised in their territory. He was 15 at the time.

Loons 'just the beginning' for Twin Cities-raised soccer dreamer Weah

With a royal soccer surname in his home country, a self-help book on his nightstand and a number chosen from scripture, teenager Patrick Weah's path proves the African proverb about raising a child.