From the Editor • Spring 2025
Katherine Comer, W’26
Former Editor-in-Chief
Dear Readers,
I’m happy to share with you the Spring 2025 edition of the Wharton Sports Analytics Journal. In this edition, you can find works highlighting many sports underrepresented in research, including softball and Paralympic sports, and many creative questions going past what we can see on the field or court.
As my first year as Editor-in-Chief comes to a close, I’m proud that the journal is continuing to have a significant presence in sports analytics research for students in high schools and universities globally. We are continually committed to being a platform where students can showcase their novel and inventive research and can foster knowledge among others in the sports analytics community.
I’d like to invite any high school, undergraduate, or graduate student doing research in sports analytics to submit their work to the journal. We would love to consider your submission for our upcoming editions.
We hope this edition helps you gain a new perspective on the breadth and depth of questions that can be asked and answered about sports and the world around them. As always, please let us know your thoughts and feedback as we strive to bring you the best of sports analytics.
Sincerely,
Katherine Comer, W’26
Editor-in-Chief
Spring 2025
To What Extent Do Socioeconomic Factors Such as HDI, Continental Origin, and Previous Host Advantage Affect Paralympic Medal Winning?
To What Extent Do Socioeconomic Factors Such as HDI, Continental Origin, and Previous Host Advantage Affect Paralympic Medal Winning?, authored by Ahmed Sherif Elagamawy, Valerie Caniedo Mangao, Muhammad Haider Shabaz (International Programs School) Read More
Analyze Tennis Winning Factors Across Different Surfaces By Utilizing Random Forest
Analyze Tennis Winning Factors Across Different Surfaces By Utilizing Random Forest, authored by Wuhuan Deng, Department of Applied Mathematics, University of Washington ’25 Read More
Deal or No Deal? – How NFL Teams May Be Better Off in the Draft
Deal or No Deal? – How NFL Teams May Be Better Off in the Draft, authored by Shreyas Vinchurkar. Read More
The Risk and the Reward: An In-depth Evaluation of Strategic Aggressiveness in Men’s Tennis
The Risk and the Reward: An In-depth Evaluation of Strategic Aggressiveness in Men’s Tennis, authored by Atul Venkatesh, Dartmouth College ’26 and Aahan Mehra, Tufts University ’27. Read More
Adjusting Double Poisson Models to Predict the NCAA Division I Softball Championship
Adjusting Double Poisson Models to Predict the NCAA Division I Softball Championship, authored by Liam Smith, The University of Alabama ’26, Randall Research Scholars Program and Brendan Ames, University of Southampton, School of Mathematical Sciences. Read More
Stats & Stumps: Using Machine Learning to Predict T20I Matches with Player and Venue Data
Stats & Stumps: Using Machine Learning to Predict T20I Matches 1 with Player and Venue Data, authored by Archith Sharma, Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science ’25. Read More
Testing the ‘Bottleneck’ Hypothesis in Professional Tennis Rankings
Testing the ‘Bottleneck’ Hypothesis in Professional Tennis Rankings, authored by Seth Richey, Florida State University ’25, and Ryan Rodenberg, Florida State University. Read More
Using Machine Learning to Construct Optimal Team Rosters in the Modern NBA
Using Machine Learning to Construct Optimal Team Rosters in the Modern NBA, authored by Jaden Patel, St. Paul’s School. Read More
Defensive Motor Index (DMI): A New Metric for Evaluating Defensive Effort and Impact in the NBA
Defensive Motor Index (DMI): A New Metric for Evaluating Defensive Effort and Impact in the NBA, authored by Pratik Gurijala, Liberal Arts and Science Academy ’27 Read More
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