SESLOC Credit Union is proud to honor 25-year-old Nico Calanchini as a SESLOC Young Change Maker in partnership with Wild 106. Nico earned the award in April 2025 for his dedication to the Central Coast community as the general manager of the San Luis Obispo Blues baseball team.
The SESLOC Young Change Maker Award is given monthly to a young person or young professional under 40 doing significant work to benefit their community. Anyone can nominate a young person for the SESLOC Young Change Maker award on the Wild 106 website.
Raised in Morro Bay, Nico attended his first Blues game in the summer of 2008 at eight years old. He immediately fell in love with the sport of baseball – and specifically, the San Luis Obispo Blues. By high school, he knew that he wanted to work in sports but wasn’t sure what form that would take.
In 2019, Nico earned an internship with the Blues, where he learned many different lessons about the business of baseball. After spending 2020 and 2021 working at Camelback Ranch in Spring Training ticketing operations for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox, he would go on to graduate from Arizona State University with a degree in sports management before returning to the Blues.
By 2021, he was named beer manager and director of hospitality, before moving up to assistant general manager in 2022. Three years later, he was named the general manager of the team.
In his role, 25-year-old Nico oversees and mentors over 30 interns, along with onboarding more than 40 collegiate players continuing their growth with the Blues over the summer. He also partners with a local non-profit organization for each game, donating 100 tickets for the non-profit to use for their volunteers or selling them as a fundraiser. The non-profits are also given space to set up an information booth outside of the main gate to share their mission. Nico says if he can make a new Blues fan from the partnerships, they will be more engaged with the team and local non-profit organizations.
As he looks ahead in his life, Nico says that he doesn’t know what the future will bring, but he hopes to keep working at a high level in sports. His focus now is to provide the best experience for the Blues, the fans, and the Central Coast community he loves. As for his interns and the next generation, his advice is to try everything to find what you love.
“Be a sponge and be flexible,” says Nico. “Going into college, you think you have your plan set and that’s where you’re going to end up. But it’s a windy road. Things are going to change, but you have to roll with the punches and you’ll wind up on your feet.”
Do you know a young (or younger at heart) person making a big difference on the Central Coast? Nominate them for the SESLOC Young Change Maker award. Visit the Wild 106 website to submit your candidate today!