The 31-year-old transferred south from Northern Districts last season and was one of Otago's best-performed four-day batsmen.
He was nominated by the players for the role and takes over from Hamish Rutherford, who led the team in the four-day and one-day competitions last summer.
Rutherford was sidelined late in the season following a head knock and Wilson filled in during his absence. He also had two seasons in charge at Northern Districts.
''I was pretty blessed up there with a really good bowling attack, so I had life pretty easy,'' Wilson said.
It is the captain who makes all the critical tactical calls in cricket and Wilson already has a demanding job at the top of the batting order.
The opener was the third-leading scorer in the competition last season with 886 runs at an average of 46.63. He scored three hundreds and six 50s, and was the only Otago player to play in all 10 first-class games last summer.
''It is definitely the best form of cricket and most rewarding if you get things right,'' Wilson said.
''It is good to be able to have an influence on how the games go.''
Wilson describes his leadership style as relaxed but he is not afraid to have the tough conversations if need be.
''I like to instil responsibility in each of the guys and hopefully things will take care of themselves.''
There is no leadership group as such this season but Wilson will have plenty of experienced players to turn to when he is looking for input.
Otago opens its campaign against Central Districts in Nelson on Saturday and new coach Rob Walter, who will appoint a limited-overs captain later in the season, has named a familiar line-up.
However, there is no Michael Bracewell. The punishing left-hander is still nursing a broken finger but should be fit for round two.
Batsman and part-time left-arm spinner Anaru Kitchen is also missing from the list. His wife is booked in for a Caesarean section delivery on Saturday.
Waitaki Boys' High School pupil Nathan Smith got the nod ahead of Jack Hunter and the 18-year-old is poised to add to his maiden first-class appearance which he made at the end of last season.
Rhys Phillips and Josh Finnie will shoulder the slow bowling responsibilities.
All-rounder Sam Wells scored a hundred in a warm-up game against Canterbury, while top-order batsman Ryan Duffy has been in good form in club cricket and gets an opportunity at No3.
His younger brother, Jacob Duffy, will spearhead the seam attack with support from Michael Rae and Smith.
Left-arm seamer Neil Wagner is resting up after his efforts with the Black Caps and was unavailable for selection. He is expected to be back for the second round.
Central Districts have named former Canterbury medium-pacer Ryan McCone in their side which boasts some promising batting talent in the form of captain Will Young, Tom Bruce and Ben Smith.
Batsman George Worker and fast bowler Adam Milne were not considered for selection because of injury, while medium-pacer Navin Patel is unavailable due to university commitments.
