by Gina Scarpa

Next month, Survivor returned for its 25th season, set in the Philippines. Fifteen players will descend upon the islands in the Pacific Ocean to compete for the title of Sole Survivor and the $1 million grand prize. This time around, they will be split up into three tribes and players will see some familiar faces to their left and right. Facts of Life star Lisa Whelchel and former MLB player Jeff Kent join the group of first time hopefuls, but past Survivor players Michael Skupin, Jonathan Penner, and Russell Swan have returned for their shot at the million as well.

What Michael, Jonathan, and Russell have in common is that they were all medically evacuated from the game during their season. You'll have to be a longtime Survivor fan to remember Michael Skupin since we last saw him a whoppping 22 seasons ago. Michael had one of the most dramatic and memorable exits from the game, after falling into a fire during Survivor: The Australian Outback. Though Jonthan Penner (one of Jeff Probst's favorite all time players) made it through Cook Islands unscathed, he left Micronesia after his knee became infected. And Russell Swan, whose tribemates looked up to during Survivor: Samoa, had to be taken out of the game after experiencing one of the worst cases of dehydration we've ever seen.

Check out the list of players below, and we'll wait to see which tribes Michael, Jonathan, and Russell end up on when Survivor returns to CBS next month!

Kalabaw Tribe
Sarah Dawson, a 28 year old insurance sales rep from Silver Springs, MD
Katie Hanson, a 22 year old pageant queen from Newark, DE
Jeff Kent, a 44 year old retired MLB player from Austin, TX
Dana Lambert, a 32 year old cosmetologist from Winston-Salem, NC
Carter Williams, a 24 year old track coach from Shawnee, KS

Tandang Tribe
Abi-Maria Gomes, a 32 year old business student from Los Angeles, CA
Roberta "RC" Saint-Amour, a 27 year old investment banker from New York, NY
Artis Silvester, a 53 year old computer engineer from Terry Town, LA
Lisa Whelchel, a 49 year old former television star from Dallas, TX
Peter Yurkowski, a 24 year old engineering graduate from Holmdel, NJ

Matsing Tribe
Malcolm Freeberg, a 25 year old bartender from Hermosa Beach, CA
Zane Knight, a 28 year old tire repairman from Danville, VA
Angie Layton, a 20 year old student from Provo, UT
Roxanne "Roxy" Morris, a 28 year old seminary student from Brooklyn, NY
Denise Stapley, a 41 year old sex therapist from Cedar Rapids, IA

Survivor: Philippines premieres Wednesday, September 19 at 8/7c on CBS.

(Image courtesy of CBS)

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