SINGAPORE — Top Singapore national swimmer Joseph Schooling is set to join the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), which counts NBA star Kevin Durant, major golf champions Ben Crenshaw and Justin Leonard, multiple Olympic swimming gold medallist Aaron Peirsol and two-time Asian Games swimming medallist Joscelin Yeo of Singapore among its alumni.

It is understood the 18-year-old will sign a letter of intent and join the university next August on a scholarship believed to be worth about US$45,000 (S$55,700) after administrative details are ironed out. UT had the top-ranked men’s swim team this year.

Mr Schooling, who graduates from the Bolles School in Florida next year, had visited the University of Florida, University of Michigan and University of California in Berkeley, but ultimately gave UT Austin the nod because he felt most at home there.

“I chose UT because I thought I’d fit in the best there,” he told TODAY. “I felt the most comfortable around the team and Texas not only has a great swim programme but it’s also a good school ... It was a close call and all the schools were very good, but it came down to the way I felt.”

This follows the announcement earlier this week that Singapore’s Ministry of Defence has allowed him to defer full-time National Service until Aug 31, 2016, in order to prepare for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, where he is considered a genuine hope to become the first Singaporean swimmer to win an Olympic medal, possibly in the 100m and/or 200m butterfly events.

Established in 1883, UT Austin, which has a US$6 billion endowment and a 1,714 sq km campus, is considered a powerhouse in college sports in America. The Texas Longhorns swim team have won 16 national titles and is helmed by head coach Eddie Reese, who coached the United States men’s Olympic teams from 1992 till 2012.

Said Mr Schooling: “It’s a good team and I want to do the best I can to help them. Eddie’s a great coach and I look forward to working with him.”

Based in Jacksonville, Florida, Mr Schooling is coached at Bolles by Spain’s 1988 Olympic 200m breaststroke bronze medallist Sergio Lopez. His parents Colin and May helped shortlist the varsities, but ultimately left the final say to him.

“It’s his future. He’s the one who will be there for the next four or five years,” said Mrs May Schooling. “It was he who suggested going to Bolles (in 2010) so that he could compete at the Olympics. He has always been very single-minded and determined.”

Four-time Olympian and 40-time Southeast Asian Games champion Yeo studied at UT Austin from 2000 to 2004. She described Mr Schooling’s decision as an “excellent” choice.

“(It) is world class, evidenced by the number of athletes there who make it to the Olympics and win medals, and professional teams,” said the former national swimmer.

“They also have amazing student-athlete rapport, so you don’t feel you have to trade one for the other. They really support you to excel in both sport and studies. It’s not like this in all colleges. Texas men’s swimming have consistently been top-five in the US, and Joseph will be spurred on by other top swimmers there. All these factors will help him mature and come out an all-rounded person.”