If he wants to leave WA, you could look at schools in Wyoming, Montana, for example. What about CO School of Mines? Maybe he could get merit there? I don’t know.
CA colleges are costly, merit is scarce except for very high stats kids, and as noted, the schools he likes there are large.
For the poster above, SCU does not meet full need. They have upped their need based aid awards, but don’t meet full need. The school is costly.
USD is a possibility, but they also don’t meet full need, and the school is expensive.