Tyler Collier

For high school athletes who are being heavily recruited, the process can be a long, intense road.

What you hope for at the end is a decision that you can be happy about.

Such is the case for Chambersburg’s Tyler Collier, who announced Wednesday night at the Trojan boys basketball banquet that he has accepted the offer of a full scholarship to play at Flagler College, an NCAA Division II school in St. Augustine, Fla.

“I really like the coaches and culture they’re building there,” Collier said, “and I think I can make an impact and help them rebuild their program. Plus, it’s in a great location, on the coast of Florida.”

Flagler has been coached for two years by Chad Warner, who came to the school from an assistant job at Div. I Valparaiso. The Saints were 9-17 in his first year and 8-20 this past season — which were improvements on the years before Warner — and Collier, who may study business administration, is excited by what he sees with the program.

“The coaches are pretty new there and they’re trying to rebuild,” Collier said. “I’m hoping it will be something like we did here (at Chambersburg) when coach (Shawn) Shreffler came back. I just felt really at home there and they have things going in the right direction.”

Shreffler said, “Their staff did a tremendous job of recruiting Tyler and has a great vision of how he will fit into their building process.”

The 6-foot-8 Collier averaged 9.6 points per game this past season, when the Trojans posted a 20-8 record and won the Mid Penn Commonwealth title. He averaged 6.6 points as a junior.

Collier said his choice came down to Flagler and Slippery Rock.

He also considered taking an extra year of prep school, with the possibility that he could play at a Div. I school after that.

“Everyone wants to play Division I, and that was a motivator,” he said. “I heard from some schools that a year of prep would help. But I felt I was at the point now where I wanted to make a decision (about where to play).”

Before he starts to prepare for the transition to college ball, Collier will be competing in the 59^th annual Donofrio Classic for Team “Don Len.” The Donofrio is a prestigious 26-team tournament held in Conshohocken that fields all-star teams of kids from New Jersey, Delaware and southeast PA.

Collier is hoping he can look back on his time at Flagler in the same way he will look back on his time with the Trojans.

“My highlight was just being a part of this class for four years, and being a part of helping to grow this program,” he said. “It was really special, and I was very fortunate to play with a group of unselfish and diverse guys.

“I hope we left behind a great culture and paved the way for other good Chambersburg teams.”

Shreffler said, “Tyler has grown a lot in four years, but I expect him to really take off in this situation. He’ll provide an immediate presence in the post through his rebounding and ability to score in the paint.”

One of Collier’s teammates, Ty Holsopple, is expected to be a preferred walk-on at Shippensburg University next year.

“I’m extremely excited for Ty,” Shreffler said. “His production was recognized (by Ship coach Chris Fite) and now he has a chance to be a piece of an outstanding program and compete for minutes. His work ethic and motor will continue to pay dividends.”

Among the Trojans’ 2018 graduates, Tyron Williams is playing at Pitt-Bradford and Evan Shreffler is a basketball manager at Penn.