Kenneth Sheets was born in Grand Prairie. After his father's honorable discharge from the military, the Sheets family moved to Mansfield. Sheets attended Grand Prairie High School. Following graduation, he joined the Marine Corps.

In 2001, Sheets attended UT-Arlington and graduated with a degree in Political Science. Shortly after, Sheets was promoted to Second Lieutenant in the Marine Corps Reserve. In 2004, Sheets earned a Juris Doctor from the Dedman School of Law at SMU.

Sheets served in Operation Iraqi Freedom from September 2007 to May 2008 in Fallujah and earned a Marine Corps Reserve Medal, Navy/Marine Corps Medal, and the Iraq Campaign Medal, as well as a promotion to the rank of captain for his 14 years of service.