WACO, Texas -- Baylor men's golf opens the 2015-16 season at the University of Minnesota' Gopher Invitational, where the Bears will defend their 2014 tournament title. The two-day, 54-hole tournament begins Sunday at the par-71, 7,152-yard Windsong Farm Golf Club.

Baylor's season-opening lineup features two returners and a trio of newcomers. Seniors Andreas Gjesteby and Frederik Andersen anchor the lineup, followed by freshman Braden Bailey, junior transfer Hunter Shattuck and freshman Garrett May.

The 16-team tournament field features Minnesota's "A" and "B" teams, Baylor, California, Charlotte, East Tennessee State, Iowa, Iowa State, Kent State, Michigan, Michigan State, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Pepperdine, SMU and St. John's.

The Bears are ranked No. 25 nationally in the Golfweek preseason coaches poll, making them the third-highest ranked team in the field behind No. 18 Oklahoma and No. 20 SMU. California, New Mexico, East Tennessee State and Charlotte are 18 unranked teams that are receiving votes in the poll.

Sunday's first round begins at 7:30 a.m. CT. May will be first off the tee for Baylor at 8:15 a.m., and he'll be followed in nine-minute intervals by Shattuck, Bailey, Andersen and Gjesteby, respectively. Second-round tee times begin with May at 1 p.m., followed again in nine-minute intervals.

Baylor will be making its third appearance at the Gopher Invite. The Bears finished in second place in 2013 and won the tournament by 16 strokes in head coach Mike McGraw's Baylor debut a season ago. Gjesteby is the only player in this year's lineup who played the event last season, and he finished tied for 12th at 7-over-par 220.

Mike McGraw begins his second year at Baylor with a men's golf team that bears little resemblance to last year's squad that won three tournament titles and placed sixth at the NCAA Bremerton Regional.

Gone are Kyle Jones, Filippo Zucchetti and Mikkel Bjerch-Andresen, a senior trio that combined for 15 top-10 finishes a year ago. Jones was a second-team All-American last year and two-time All-Big 12 honoree, setting the school single-season record with a 70.47-stroke average.

Beyond seniors Andreas Gjesteby and Frederik Andersen, who averaged 72.08 and 73.67 strokes, respectively, there is little returning experience. McGraw did a full roster makeover, bringing in three true freshmen and a trio of transfers.

"You understand that kids graduate, kids turn pro, things happen," McGraw said. "You're kind of always in that mode of being ready for the next group. We're really excited about this group, because they seem to be unbelievably motivated and really competitive."

Three newcomers join Gjesteby and Andersen in the lineup for the University of Minnesota's Gopher Invitational that begins Sunday at Windsong Farm Golf Club, a par-71, 7,152-yard layout in Independence, Minn. Earning spots out of the qualifying tournament were true freshmen Braden Bailey and Garrett May and junior transfer Hunter Shattuck from crosstown McLennan Community College.

"The key for both Garrett and Braden was to get here and get acclimated to school, learn how to use the academic center and be away from home for an extended period of time for the first time in their lives," McGraw said of May and Bailey, who both came in for the second summer session. "And here they are, going to their first tournament. With all the competition, they were able to find a way to get on the squad for the first tournament."

Bailey and May both finished in the top 10 individually at last spring's Class 5A state tournament, while Shattuck was a second-team All-American in 2014 who helped MCC to a runner-up finish at last year's NJCAA National Championship.

Also new to the team are true freshman Austin Cotton from Austin, Texas, and Division I transfers Matthew Perrine from Auburn and Klein Klotz from Sam Houston State.

"We have so many guys who will be ready to take the spots," Andersen said. "If some guys don't play too well, we've got other guys that can step in. I think we're going to keep challenging each other this year, more so than we did last year, to really keep improving and finish strong."

After winning three of their first nine tournaments last year, the Bears faded at the end, placing seventh at the Big 12 Championships and sixth at the Bremerton Regional, one spot out of a qualifying spot for the NCAA Championships.

"I didn't do a good enough job of painting the picture of what the Big 12 Championship would look like or feel like, or regionals or nationals," McGraw said. "So, I'm going to paint that picture out there while still trying to get them to focus on what we can do today. . . . The goal is the same. We want to be the best team Baylor's ever had."

Baylor is the defending champion at the Gopher Invite, shooting 10-under-par at last year's tournament and winning by 16 shots over runner-up California.

A strong 16-team field includes 11 squads that advanced to NCAA regional play and three region champions. SMU finished 14th, Charlotte 22nd and Oklahoma 28th at last year's NCAA Championships.

Rounding out the field with Baylor, SMU, Charlotte, Oklahoma and the host Minnesota team are California, East Tennessee State, Iowa, Iowa State, Kent State, Michigan, Michigan State, New Mexico, Pepperdine and St. John's (Minn.), an NCAA Division III team.

"This field is probably 50 percent than it was last year," McGraw said. "I honestly believe this schedule, because we changed a few tournaments out, is maybe tougher than any tournament schedule Baylor has ever had. It doesn't sound real smart when you lose three seniors. It doesn't mean we won't get our nose bloodied, but we've got to go out and play the best we can against the best teams we can possibly play against."

In a quick turnaround, Baylor will travel to Chicago, Ill., for the Fighting Illini Invitational next Friday-Sunday, Sept. 18-20, at Olympia Fields Country Club.