Keith Watson began his affiliation with wrestling at the request of Bel Air High School's head coach, Mark Jacovitte.

Basically, Jacovitte needed a heavyweight, and Watson didn't say no.

After a rough start with little success his season was ended early with a torn cartilage in his knee. Interestingly in that fateful match, he came back from a 5-0 deficit to tie the bout and save the dual meet for Bel Air.

With his season over, Watson moved onto surgery and rehabilitation in preparation for his freshman football season at Towson State University. Watson was an offensive lineman for the Tigers until the recurring knee injury forced him to hang up the shoulder pads for good in 1983.

He returned to wrestling when he asked if he could assist at Bel Air in 1988. It was at Bel Air, that he learned to coach and the value of wrestling postseason. He remained at Bel Air until after the 2002 season when Watson moved to the crosstown rival John Carroll.

At John Carroll, Watson found a program without a practice space and little or no awareness of the sport, among the student body. That first year the program grew from 16 to 38 wrestlers to as many as 60 by 2005. In 2005 John Carroll ran two varsity teams that would wrestle anyone, anywhere and amassed a 40-8 dual meet record between the two squads. They won the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association "B" conference and Watson was named Maryland Coach of the Year.

The following year, the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association ruled that it was unfair for public schools to compete against 'split squads' so John Carroll was forced to eliminate much of it's schedule and the number of participants dropped as well.

However, John Carroll had made a name for itself as a force to be reckoned with and the talent started to enroll.

Under Watson the Patriots had 299 dual meet wins with 28 prep All-Americans and two national champions.

Watson was twice named Maryland Coach of the Year and in 2015 was named National Prep Coach of the Year.