Growing up in the San Diego neighborhood of Ocean Beach where he attended local public schools, Wells was dependent on his mother, who worked numerous jobs to support him and his four siblings. He graduated from Point Loma High School, where he played baseball and basketball, in 1982 and was a self-described "gym rat" who spent most of his time at the Ocean Beach Recreation Center and Robb Field. Wells was Point Loma High School’s star pitcher and threw a perfect game his senior year.