Wheeler began his collegiate baseball career at Butler Community College where he played for two years as a catcher.

[3] In January 2014, Wheeler was named an assistant coach for the Junction City Brigade, a team he played for during his college years, and was promoted to manager eleven months later.

[4] During his time as the Junction City manager, Wheeler also served as an assistant coach at Butler Community College.

[5] Wheeler won the regular season and Mid-Plains League tournament championships during his time at Junction City.

[7] During his three years as an assistant coach, he helped the Hornets advance to the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) and NCAA Tournaments each of the three years, winning the MIAA Tournament in 2017, and an overall record of 110–52, 76–34 conference record.