UST Golden Spikers Sherwin Umandal and Nat Prudenciado have decided to forego their remaining playing eligibility with the team.
Their exits come after UST’s Final Four run in UAAP Season 88, where the Golden Spikers bowed down to the National University Bulldogs in the semifinals.
Both players followed in the footsteps of their older siblings who were once part of the Golden Spikers, with Sherwin’s brother Josh and Nat’s brother Van previously suiting up for the team.
Umandal served as a valuable depth piece for UST throughout Season 88.
One of his most memorable performances came in the Golden Spikers’ upset victory over NU in the final elimination-round game, which forced a playoff for the No. 2 seed.
There, he scored all eight of his points in the fourth set to provide the spark UST needed.
Umandal first suited up for the Golden Spikers in Season 86 but did not see action the following year. Outside the UAAP, he was named Best Opposite Hitter in the 2023 PNVF Challenge Cup and represented UST in the 2024 PNVF Under-21 NCR Meet and Luzon Cluster Meet.
He is set to graduate from the Institute of Physical Education and Athletics (IPEA) with a degree in Fitness and Sports Management.
Prudenciado, meanwhile, spent two seasons on UST’s UAAP roster, making the lineup in Seasons 86 and 87 before missing Season 88.
The libero suffered a superior labrum anterior-to-posterior (SLAP) tear during a UST training session in August 2023 but still played through his rookie season alongside his older brother, former Golden Spikers libero Van Tracy Prudenciado, who was then in his final year with the team.
Prudenciado later underwent SLAP repair surgery in July 2024 and will now focus on completing his studies in the College of Tourism and Hospitality Management.
Despite the departures, UST is expected to retain much of its core heading into Season 89.
Three-time UAAP Most Valuable Player Josh Ybañez is set to return for his final year of eligibility, while team captain Dux Yambao has yet to decide whether he will maximize his remaining playing years.
Joshua Avila, who has been part of the Golden Spikers for the past three seasons, is also set to leave the team after becoming ineligible to return to the UAAP because of age restrictions.
Ybañez, Yambao and Avila are set to graduate this June 2026 with degrees in Fitness and Sports Management.
