Future doctor Santos gives Thunderbelles one more go
Volleyball still has other plans for ZUS Coffee middle blocker Caroline Santos, as she decides to have another run with the Thunderbelles in the 2026 PVL All-Filipino Conference starting on Jan. 31, while preparing for medical school.
Santos, a BA Psychology graduate from La Salle, was already firm about pursuing med school right after ZUS Coffee’s historic silver medal finish in the Reinforced Conference last December. She also received offers from other teams, according to her management, Hustle and Groove.
Her ultimate dream is to become an orthopedic doctor, but she still has a mission to fulfill in the PVL.
“At that time, I was already set on focusing on my medical school preparations,” Santos told the Inquirer. “I later found out that I couldn’t enter med school just yet because I still needed to take several exams required for application, along with my upcoming board exam.
“Because of that, this year was really meant for reviewing and preparing.”
The 24-year-old middle blocker, who went undrafted in 2024 but was signed by Cignal in the same year before transferring to ZUS Coffee last season, got another opportunity to play for the Thunderbelles anew after team owner Frank Lao called and asked her to play again.
“It honestly felt like everything aligned. Med school is definitely knocking, but volleyball felt like it was saying ‘not yet,’” Santos went on. “Volleyball is still something I deeply love, and ZUS has always felt like home.”
“Tito Frank has always been very good to us—not just as a team owner, but as someone who genuinely cares about the players,” Santos said. “With the trust, support and respect he has consistently shown, it was an opportunity I couldn’t say no to. The timing felt right, and it made sense for me both personally and professionally.
Juggling med school preparations and playing pro ball “will definitely require a lot of discipline and structure, but being a student-athlete is something I’ve done for most of my life, so this isn’t entirely new to me,” she said.
“My focus right now is preparing properly for med school while staying committed to PVL.”
As she continues her volleyball career, Santos enters the All-Filipino Conference with the excitement of working with the Thunderbelles and the confidence everyone gained from a historic first finals appearance in the Reinforced Conference last December.
“That finals experience was a huge learning moment for me. It taught me how important composure, discipline and mental toughness are, especially in high-pressure situations,” Santos explained. “I learned to trust the system and the people around me more.”
