PEORIA, Ill. -- The Bradley Braves open up their season in Edwardsville to take on the defending champs and a competitive 18 team field at the SIUE Derek Dolenc Invitational.

SIUE DEREK DOLENC INVITATIONAL
Location: Gateway National Golf Links - Madison, Ill.
Dates: September 9th-10th
Live Stats: Link

Monday will see the teams play 36 holes with an 8:15 shotgun start, followed by 18 holes on Tuesday with the same 8:15 shotgun start.

The competition includes a few conference foes, as the Braves will get an early look at some of the teams they will be competing against for an MVC championship this spring.  The full list of teams includes SIUE, Missouri State,  Eastern Illinois, UT-Martin, Weber State, South Dakota, Wichita State, Utah State, Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois, Tennessee Tech, Drake, Lindenwood, Southern Indiana, Western Illinois, Green Bay, Bellarmine.

Last year the Braves competed in the Derek Dolenc Invitational, fighting to a 13th-place finish.

The Braves lineup for the tournament will consist of:
1. Connor Hamm. 
2. Max Adams 
3. Brody McCarthy. 
4. Devin Reichard 
5. Carter Stevenson.

The Braves welcome two newcomers to the team and return five letterwinners. Tanner Leonard, a freshman from Frankfurt, Ill., and Jeremy Ott, a transfer from Bartonville, Ill., join returners Connor Hamm, Max Adams, Brody McCarthy, Devin Reichard and Carter Stevenson to fill out the roster. Hamm enters the season as the longest-tenured golfer on the team, entering his third season. Stevenson, entering his sophomore season, posted the best round score average on the team during the 2023-24 season with a 73.19 average. He was responsible for four of the team's six top-10 individual finishes in all tournaments, including three top-ten finishes in the final three meets of the season with, capping it with an eighth-place finish in the MVC Championship.

COMING UP...
The Braves will return to the links the following week, heading to Kansas State University for the Wildcat Invitational on Sept. 16-17.