Ball State University Athletics
Track & Field
Adrian Wheatley
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- adrian.wheatley@bsu.edu
- Phone:
- 765-285-5168
| ADRIAN WHEATLEY: AT A GLANCE |
| COACHING HIGHLIGHTS Ball State (2021-Present) USTFCCCA Team Academic Award 2023 MAC outdoor championship team 30 All-MAC athletes 18 MAC champions 15 NCAA qualifiers Eight All-Americans NCAA Indoor team top 32 finish NCAA Outdoor team top 17 finish Eight school records University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill (2019-2021) Nine All-ACC athletes Two ACC champions 17 NCAA first-round qualifiers Five All-Americans University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2010-2018) Seven school records Big Ten men’s championship team 27 Big Ten champions 36 All-Big Ten athletes 93 NCAA first-round qualifiers 58 NCAA final-round qualifiers 67 All-Americans Big Ten record holder Olympic hurdler University of Virginia (2007-2010) Three NCAA qualifiers ACC champion ACC runner-up Six school records Austin Peay (2005-2007) Two long jump conference titles Two long jump NCAA regional qualifiers College of Charleston (2003-2005) Weight and hammer throw conference title Weight and hammer throw regional qualifier Weight and hammer throw NCAA qualifier |
| MAJOR AWARDS/HONORS 2023 USTFCCCA Great Lakes Region Head Coach of the Year 2023 MAC Head Coach of the Year Three-time USTFCCCA Regional Assistant Coach of the Year 2015 Coaching Staff of the Year honor with Illinois 2015 Indoor and Outdoor Assistant Coach of the Year |
In his most recent season (2026), Wheatley sent athletes in five separate events to the NCAA regional and national meets, something that hadn’t been done at Ball State since 2007. But sending athletes to these meets wasn’t enough for Wheatley. It was helping them succeed once there that was the goal, as was the case with Kenli Nettles.
Nettles, who medically retired following multiple serious injuries at other schools, thought her career was over. Wheatley managed to bring her out of retirement and to Ball State. He helped her find her feet again, reigniting the love that Nettles once felt for the sport. That help allowed her to cap off her collegiate career as an All-American, finishing 16th in the heptathlon at the 2026 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
Wheatley also helped keep what has become a long-standing tradition for the Cardinals intact when Nettles claimed the 2026 MAC Outdoor Heptathlon title. Dating back to Wheatley’s first season, Ball State has claimed every multi-event (pentathlon and heptathlon) MAC title at both the Indoor and Outdoor MAC Championships, meaning Nettles’s victory made it 11-straight for the Cardinals.
Another face who helped carry on that tradition was Jenelle Rogers. Under Wheatley, Rogers grew into one of Ball State’s most dominant athletes of all time. She saw an impressive level of success across her four years in Muncie. She claimed six individual MAC titles, was a four-time recipient of the MAC Most Outstanding Field Performer Award, two-time recipient of the MAC Most Valuable Performer Award, a six-time NCAA qualifier and a four-time All-American.
Her finishes of 2nd, 4th, 5th and 7th in the multi-events at the NCAA National Championships stand as some of the greatest in the history of Ball State’s program. Rogers also owns the program records for best-ever scores in the heptathlon and the pentathlon.
Perhaps the greatest achievement on track in Wheatley’s time as BSU head coach came back in 2023 when Charity Griffith did something that only one Cardinal before her had ever done. After finishing the 2022 NCAA National Outdoor Championships in fifth position for the high jump, Griffith went four better under Wheatley’s guidance, winning the 2023 NCAA High Jump National Title. Before Griffith, LaTasha Jenkins was the only individual national champion for Ball State, winning the 1999 200-meter dash.
Wheatley not only wants to see his athletes succeed on the track, but also in the classroom as students. Thus, it should be no surprise that a staggering 17 of them were named to the All-MAC Academic Team this past season, tying the most that qualified since Wheatley took over the program. That number has never been below 14 during his tenure.
Furthermore, in Wheatley’s first season at Ball State, the Cardinals posted the ninth-best GPA in the country. His impact so far here in Muncie has been more than just on the track, and these numbers truly highlight the coach that he is.
It should come as a surprise to no one that Wheatley knows how to identify this top talent. Early in his career, Wheatley served in multiple recruiting roles as a part of two conference coaching staffs of the year.
He has previously coached with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the University of Virginia, Austin Peay State University and the College of Charleston. During his time prior to Ball State, he mentored 77 All-Americans, 31 conference champions and 114 NCAA First Round Qualifiers.
Wheatley was also a championships athlete of his own at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, being named an All-SEC and All-American Athlete on the Volunteers’ 2001 NCAA National Championship team. While at Tennessee, he was named the Ed South Men's Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2002 and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in urban planning.
Wheatley married his wife Hollie in 2007. The couple have five children together.
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