In 2018, as a freshman at East Carolina, Williams missed time due to a forearm strain but still compiled a 1.15 ERA over 15+2⁄3 innings.[6] After the 2018 season, he played
collegiate summer baseball with the
Bourne Braves of the
Cape Cod Baseball League.[7] As a sophomore in 2019, he appeared in 21 games (five starts), going 1–4 with a 4.56 ERA over 49+1⁄3 innings.[8][9] In 2020, he pitched three innings before the college baseball season was cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. He was considered a top prospect for the
2020 Major League Baseball draft, but went unselected.[10][11] Williams moved into the starting rotation for the 2021 season.[12] He missed the beginning of the year with a minor injury but still appeared in 15 games (making 12 starts), going 10–1 with a 1.88 ERA with 130 strikeouts over 81+1⁄3 innings.[13][14] He was named the
American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year alongside earning
2021 College Baseball All-America Team honors.[15][16][17][18]
Williams was assigned to the
Lake County Captains of the
High-AMidwest League to make his professional debut and begin the 2022 season.[21] After nine starts in which he went 2-1 with a 1.40 ERA and 67 strikeouts over 45 innings, he was promoted to the
Akron RubberDucks of the
Double-AEastern League.[22] Over 16 starts with Akron, he posted a 3-3 record with a 2.31 ERA and 82 strikeouts over seventy innings.[23] He returned to Akron to open the 2023 season.[24] After three starts, he was promoted to the
Columbus Clippers of the
Triple-AInternational League.[25] Williams logged a 3–2 record and 2.93 ERA with 61 strikeouts across 9 starts for Columbus. On June 20, 2023, the Guardians announced that Williams would be promoted to the major leagues for the first time to start the following day against the
Oakland Athletics.[26]