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It was always going to be a tough act to follow.
The San Jose State University volleyball team was eliminated from making the Mountain West tournament with a loss Saturday to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, finishing the season below .500 with a 13-16 overall record and 8-10 in conference play.
SJSU exceeded expectations, finishing seventh in the Mountain West after being projected to finish 11th in the conference’s preseason coaches poll following a controversy involving 2024 trans athlete Blaire Fleming.
Head coach Todd Kress led last year’s team to the conference finals, but had eight wins, including the conference semifinals, awarded via forfeit. SJSU previously made the conference finals with Fleming in 2022, the trans athlete’s first year with the Spartans under former head coach Trent Kersten.
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The controversy involving Fleming resulted in two lawsuits during the 2024 season, a federal investigation by the United States Department of Education, and a mass exodus of players. At least seven of the team’s returning players from 2024 entered the transfer portal in December after the end of the season.
The controversial 2024 season included eight forfeited games, regular police protection, national scrutiny and internal turmoil between players and coaches.
Kress has previously said the 2024 season was one of the “toughest” of his life. Kress is 21st in NCAA women’s volleyball history in wins as a head coach.
“This has been one of the most difficult seasons I’ve ever experienced, and I know the same is true for many of our players and staff who have supported us throughout. Maintaining our focus on the field and ensuring the overall safety and well-being of my players amidst the outside noise have been my priorities,” Kress said.
EX-SJSU STAR BROOKE SLUSSER MAKES NEW ALLEGATIONS TO INVESTIGATE TRANS TEAMMAT ALLEGED PLOT TO HARM HER
Kersten was the coach who recruited Fleming to SJSU as a transfer out of Coastal Carolina. Kersten then retired after the 2022 season and was replaced by Kress.
Former SJSU co-captain Brooke Slusser transferred to SJSU from Alabama in 2023
Then, in September 2024, Slusser joined a lawsuit against the NCAA alleging that SJSU officials withheld knowledge of Fleming’s birth gender from her and other players on the team. Slusser alleged that she was forced to share dressing and sleeping spaces with Fleming, not knowing that Fleming was a biological male.
Slusser, along with several other Mountain West players, filed a separate lawsuit against the conference and San Jose State in November 2024 over Fleming’s presence. That trial included testimony from former San Jose State volleyball players Alyssa Sugai and Elle Patterson, who alleged they were passed over for scholarships in favor of Fleming.
Assistant coach Melissa Batie-Smoose was suspended by the program in early November after she filed a Title IX complaint against the university for showing favoritism to Fleming over the other players, particularly Slusser. Batie-Smoose’s complaint also contained allegations of Fleming’s scheme to impale Slusser in the face.
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Brooke Slusser (10) and Blaire Fleming (3) of the San Jose State Spartans call a play during the first set against the Air Force Falcons on Falcon Court in East Gym on Oct. 19, 2024 in Colorado Springs, Colo. (Andrew Wevers/Getty Images)
Batie-Smoose’s contract was not renewed by the school at the end of January. The coach then filed his own lawsuit against the board of trustees of the California State University (CSU) system. SJSU is one of 23 California-based schools that are part of the system.
Batie-Smoose told Pakinomist Digital that SJSU accommodated Fleming with special exceptions not given to female athletes.
“Not showing up to practice without excuses, sitting in the stands and eating while practice was going on, that kind of thing,” Batie-Smoose said of the special exceptions reserved solely for Fleming.
Fleming previously responded to Batie-Smoose’s claim and addressed Slusser in a social media exchange with Pakinomist Digital.
“The only times I showed up to practice with ‘no excuse’ and sat in the stands was when I was injured and couldn’t play. Brooke Slusser and Melissa need a life,” Fleming said.
After the 2024 volleyball season, Slusser fled SJSU after frequent alleged harassment and threats from other students in response to her speaking out against Fleming and the program the previous fall. She returned to her parents’ home in Texas to finish the distance school year and now works as a youth volleyball coach in North Carolina.
Fleming celebrated graduating from SJSU in a social media post in May.
The University of Nevada, Reno, which was involved in the 2024 controversy for trying to have its players compete against SJSU and Fleming despite preferring to lose, finished the 2025 season in 11th place with an 8-20 record, 4-14 in conference play.
