West Coast League Interim President Tony Bonacci – WCL Vice President and owner of the Cowlitz Black Bears – announced the hiring of longtime baseball executive Brian Sloan as the league’s new President this morning. Sloan assumes his President’s duties effective immediately.

Sloan is a baseball marketing specialist who has established and cultivated many high profile community and advertising partnerships. After spending 24 years in minor league baseball, Brian has a keen understanding of what it takes to operate a successful baseball franchise. Sloan’s vision and acute business sense are complemented nicely by his engaging personality and unique and friendly rapport with his expansive network.

“I’m excited to have a leader with the integrity, energy and enthusiasm the West Coast League deserves,” said WCL Secretary and Wenatchee AppleSox owner Jim Corcoran. “Brian Sloan’s passion for quality baseball will be a huge asset for our league as we enter our second decade. We’re excited to have him join us as we move forward.”

As an executive with the Everett AquaSox, Sloan was honored in 2010 as the Northwest League’s Executive of the Year. He was a key contributor under four different AquaSox ownership groups. Everett has been the Seattle Mariners Short-Season A affiliate since 1995.

Prior to his time with the AquaSox, Brian served as General Manager and Assistant General Manager for Pittsburgh Pirates affiliates in Welland, Ontario and Erie, Pennsylvania.

Currently, Brian works as Director of Business Development with Alexander Global Promotions in Bellevue, Washington. He will continue working with over 100 professional and collegiate teams; helping each partner plan their annual promotional calendars while also serving as the President of the premier summer collegiate baseball league west of the Mississippi – the West Coast League.

“I am extremely honored to be named President of the WCL, which is a pretty amazing opportunity for me and my family to be a part of,” said the WCL’s new president, Brian Sloan. “I’ve got to know many of the league directors since the inception of the WCL and now I get the opportunity to work with them on a daily basis and help strengthen the WCL brand. I can’t wait to get started.”

Brian holds a BA in Psychology from the University of Western Ontario and a Masters in Sport Management from Concordia University in Montreal.

Sloan has worked with many of the WCL’s member teams while with Alexander Global. He has great respect and admiration for the league and its members; and is dedicated to student-athlete development, memory making, increasing member attendance, growing revenues and enriching the league’s member communities.

ABOUT THE WEST COAST LEAGUE

The West Coast League is the premier summer collegiate baseball league west of the Mississippi. The 13-year-old, 11-team, professionally operated wood-bat league located in the beautiful Pacific Northwest features pro prospects from major conferences across the nation and an unparalleled history out west of great fan and player experiences in addition to the best summer weather in North America. 82 players with WCL experience were selected in the MLB 2017 June draft. In 2016, more than 230 WCL alums appeared in affiliated professional baseball including 28 in the major leagues, such as 2015 home-run leader Chris Davis (Baltimore), 2015 NL Rookie of the Year runner-up Matt Duffy (Tampa Bay) and rising star pitchers Matt Andriese (Tampa Bay), Matt Boyd (Detroit) and James Paxton (Seattle); and outfielder Mitch Haniger (Arizona, now Seattle). Overall member attendance was 379,611 in 2016.