[1] Keays moved to Brisbane at five years of age[2] and continued playing Auskick at the Morningside Australian Football Club.

[3] His great grandfather, Fred, played football for Fitzroy and Collingwood between 1919 and 1922 and served in both World War I and II.

[11][12] He also captained Queensland to their first division 2 title in nine years at the 2015 AFL Under 18 Championships[13] and won the 2015 Hunter Harrison Medal for his performances across the three games.

[19] He won the Andrew Ireland Medal as best afield in the 2017 NEAFL Grand final, amassing 30 disposals, 9 tackles and 2 goals.

[22] Keays shocked the AFL with an elite disposal average of 28.1 throughout the home-and-away season as well as polling 11 votes in the 2021 Brownlow Medal.

[25] In an August 2023 match against Sydney, Keays had a shot for goal late in the game that was controversially adjudged to hit the post, but video evidence, which was only reviewed after the decision was made, deemed this incorrect.

[30] His efforts throughout the 2024 season were rewarded with him winning the Malcolm Blight Medal, the award for the player deemed best and fairest of the Adelaide Football Club.