KENNESAW, Ga. | Nov 13, 2026

A basketball player, Sabrina Wheeler ’21 came to Kennesaw State University thinking she wanted to coach while going the scientific extra mile.

The former standout at Creekview High School in Canton, Georgia, eventually found her path as an exercise science major in Kennesaw State’s Wellstar College of Health and Human Services. Now she applies lessons from her academic journey to coaching girls’ basketball.

“I knew I wanted to study exercise science from Day 1 of college, and it just came from being an athlete,” said Wheeler, who also earned a certificate in coaching at KSU. “I always felt like coaches know how to teach, that's their education, but do they know the science behind how to train athletes? I was immediately interested in that, and it has translated so nicely. There are so many things that I've learned from exercise science.”

In December, Wheeler will finish her Ed.D. in Kinesiology from Concordia University in St. Paul, Minnesota. KSU Professor of Exercise Science Gerald Mangine is advising her dissertation, which is titled “Examining the Relationships Between Physical Abilities and In-Game Performance in High School Girls’ Basketball Across a Competitive Season.”

“We put together a study looking at relationships between the field tests that you normally would measure in a basketball player, and how they might relate to in-game statistics and performance,” Mangine said. “We looked at the relationships at the beginning, middle, and the end of the season to see if the same things were important at each stage. She just finished up that study, and she's almost ready to submit it for a publication. For an online doctoral program, we pulled off a real study in a population that no one really looks at.”

Early on, Mangine and Wheeler focused on measuring speed, power, and agility for basketball players. With the consent of the team and the school, Wheeler had Creekview players wear Titan inertial measurement units (IMUs) during games, and she collected data from their efforts and followed up with a post-game survey about each game’s intensity. In addition, Mangine brought testing equipment from KSU to Creekview’s gym for post-practice assessments. She interpreted the data and reported back to the team members.

“We’re just trying to figure out if there’s a better way to train our athletes. Are they getting fatigued throughout the year? Are they adapting to the demands of competition?” Wheeler explained. “The girls loved it. I would print out their numbers from the IMUs and give it to them on these colorful charts. Immediately, we went to see how they did that game and what was going on. They knew what it felt like, but they wanted to see what the numbers said. That was a lot of fun.”

That research took place in a season in which the Grizzlies won the Georgia Class AAAAA state championship in March. Mangine said Wheeler showed research acumen and personal perseverance that will serve her well in her next step.

“She went above and beyond managing the project,” he said. “It's not easy doing research in high school. She had to get extra levels of consent from the parents. She pulled off something special without having a template, like not being in a lab where she's seeing research happen often and getting to participate. It's not very common where you can just tell a student, ‘This is what you’ve got to do,’ and they do it, and they don't have many questions. That initiative is kind of rare.” 

Before she arrived on the precipice of being a coach-scientist, her path took a couple of detours.

Wheeler transferred to KSU after two years at Berry College to earn her Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science and elevate her own knowledge of the inner workings of the sport. She played a season of basketball at Division III Berry, but after an injury and a coaching change, Wheeler struggled to figure out her life after sport and determined that a big change was in order. That included a transfer.

Because KSU was just down the road from her hometown, she hadn’t considered it as an option years ago. This time around, the timing and overall situation pointed her down the road from both Berry and Canton.

“I immediately loved it when I stepped on campus,” she said. “I feel like I almost ended up here accidentally, but once I was here, I knew that this was when I needed to be here. I don't think I needed to be here sooner. I had to learn some of those harder lessons about trying to be an athlete and going through that injury process that really motivate me now as a coach and exercise scientist.”

After finishing her doctorate, she hopes to continue building on her experiences as a basketball coach. She hasn’t ruled out teaching or research, but coaching sports will continue to be a part of her life.

“I'll have some big decisions to make about what world I might want to be in a little more, but I want a foot in both worlds of coaching and science if I can,” she said.

– Story by Dave Shelles

Photos provided

 

A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees to its more than 51,000 students. Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia with 11 academic colleges. The university's vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties, and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country and the world. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 8 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.