The college recruiting process started at an early age for Emmaus senior David Kachelries. Colleges began scouting him during his freshman year of high school.

Some offers came in within the next few years, but it took time to get the one he really wanted. And once that happened, Kachelries jumped on it.

Just a few months after receiving a scholarship offer to play basketball at the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark, Kachelries accepted and committed to the Highlanders.

“Coach [Brian] Kennedy and the staff were very passionate in recruiting me,” Kachelries said. “I loved how they wanted me and made me feel like a priority. [Assistant] Coach [Kevin] Driscoll and I have known each other since I was in sixth grade. He recruited me to play at Holy Cross before he joined NJIT.

“I trust him, and coach Kennedy. I’m also very excited to play in a new arena, and a new conference.”

The relationships helped out NJIT in landing one of the Lehigh Valley’s premier point guards.

Driscoll was an assistant at Holy Cross for three years and had contact with Kachelries even before that. He was a member of the staff at Hoop Group, which host tournaments for high school teams and players, and that Kachelries has been a part of for several years. Kennedy’s brother, Rob, also was a member of the Hoop Group staff.

Along with a brand new, million-dollar arena, the Highlanders are the newest members of the Atlantic Sun Conference, joining at the start of the 2015-16 school year. They were previously a Division I independent.

“It’s a growing campus, and a growing conference,” said Kachelries. “With a brand new staff, it’s a good situation to get into. There will be opportunities for playing time. I was on campus about two months ago and I think it’s beautiful there. I know the area well too because I grew up playing a lot of AAU ball in New Jersey.”

Kennedy’s plans for his newest signee to play point guard, a position that Kachelries has run at the highest level of high school basketball since becoming a starter as a freshman.

“I’ve learned a lot from my coaches and teammates at Emmaus and in AAU,” Kachelries added. “I’ve been able to play with and against great competition during practices and games. We’ve had some great teams in my three years at Emmaus so far, and I know this year isn’t going to be any different.”

Although David and his brother Matt are the lone starters returning from last year’s Green Hornet team that finished 20-9 overall and in third place in District 11, the Green Hornets have talent at their disposal.

Fellow seniors Daryn Lewis and Eric Cichoki will be looked at as leaders with younger players like juniors Josh Artis, Cole Ferguson and Cory Riegel, and sophomore Zach Sabol having to give meaningful minutes this year.

He averaged 20.8 points per game as a junior, while also contributing 2.7 steals, 5.3 assists, and 2.1 rebounds a game. The All-EPC point guard made 54 three-pointers and shot 60 percent from the field last year. Last season he scored 37 points in Emmaus first boys basketball state playoff win since 2005.

“I worked really hard to become the player I am,” stated Kachelries. “But we had a great year as a team. I will always remember that state playoff win, and how the seniors were able to go out the way they did.

“Now it’s our turn as a senior class to lead the other guys and keep the winning tradition going. It’s going to be a really good league this year, but wide open.”

Kachelries chose NJIT over his other finalist Lafayette. He also had offers from American, Fordham, Binghampton, Holy Cross, Brown, Dartmouth, and Lehigh.