A native of Columbia, South Carolina, he won a gold medal at the 2016 USATF Junior Olympics in the long jump before focusing on sprinting events.

Patterson attended Dreher High School in Columbia, where he broke the state record in the 200 m and won a state title in the 400 m. As a freshman at Virginia Tech in 2019, Patterson set the world under-20 record in the indoor 300 m with a time of 32.49 s. After winning six Atlantic Coast Conference championships at Virginia Tech from 2019 to 2021, he transferred to the University of Florida ahead of his senior year.

[5][6] Patterson won the long jump competition at the 2016 USATF Junior Olympics,[5] as well as the South Carolina 4A state title in the 400 m as a senior in 2018.

[6] In his collegiate debut at the Virginia Tech Invitational on January 11, Patterson broke the world under-20 record in the indoor 300 m with a time of 32.49 seconds.

"[6] Patterson was named the Division I men's national athlete of the week by the U.S. Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) for his performance.

[13] Two weeks later, he set a school record in the indoor 200 m after clocking 20.84 s at the Bob Pollock Invitational, shaving two-tenths of a second off the previous mark.

[26] Patterson set a new school (and conference) record in the 400 m in February, running 45.24 for a second-place finish at the Tiger Paw Invitational.

[28] He became just the fourth male sprinter in ACC history to win the 200/400 m double at the conference championships, earning the men's award for Most Outstanding Track performer.

[31] At the Florida Relays on April 3, Patterson became the first Virginia Tech athlete to break the 45-second barrier in the 400 m, clocking 44.81 s for a second-place finish.

[29][33] The team of Patterson, Patrick Forrest, Cameron Rose and Tyreke Sapp became the first 4 × 400 m squad in school history to win an outdoor conference title.

[29] Patterson qualified to run in both events at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships, but instead announced his decision to transfer to the University of Florida just a few days before he was scheduled to compete.

[37][38] At the SEC Indoor Championships, Patterson finished fourth in the 400 m before anchoring the 4 × 400 m relay team to a silver medal performance.