Willie Watson is in his third year as an assistant coach with the Owls, after being hired in April of 2023.
During his time on the staff, the Owls have put together one of the best two-year stretches in the school's Division I history, having posted a 19-win season in 2024-25, and a 15-win season in 2023-24, which rank second and third all-time at KSU. This past season, the Owls recorded numerous firsts in program history, most notably the first-ever win over a Top-25 team (No. 24 Rutgers) and the first-ever Quad 1 victory (on the road at Liberty). Over the past two seasons, KSU has placed three players on the all-conference teams, and also had both the first-ever CUSA Freshman of the Year and Freshman All-American (Adrian Wooley) in school history. During his first season, he was part of a recruiting staff that brought in the highest ranked class ever at KSU at No. 32, which was also the highest ranked non-Power Four class in the nation in 2023-24.
Watson came to the Owls after having spent the previous six seasons at North Alabama, where he was eventually elevated to the position of associate head coach. During his time with the Lions (2017-23), Watson helped lead UNA to the 2021 ASUN championship game, and to the team's first-ever Division I national postseason tournament appearance in 2023 CBI. He was part of a staff that recruited eight all-conference players and two conference Freshmen of the Year. Before his time in Florence, Watson was an assistant coach at Kentucky Wesleyan (2016-17) and UTRGVÂ (2014-16). As the interim head coach at Marion Military Institute in 2012-13, when he led his team to a win over the No. 1 team in the region while coaching two all-conference and one all-region player. He was an assistant coach the previous season, helping the team to a program best 21-9 record while coaching three all-conference and all-region players, including the Player of the Year.
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A former co-worker of Pettway's at Alabama, he initially joined the Crimson Tide as a manager before walking onto the team for the 2005-06 squad, which reached 20 wins and the second round of the NCAAÂ Tournament. He received Bachelor of Science in business management degree in May 2009, and later earned his Master of Science in sports management in 2011. He also earned graduate certificates in conflict management, negotiation and mediation.
