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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 the Mountain West Tournament with a loss Saturday to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and finished the season below .500 with a 13-16 overall record and 8-10 in conference play.
SJSU exceeded expectations and finished seventh in the Mountain West after it was expected to finish 11th in the conference’s preseason coaches’ poll following a controversy involving trans athlete Blaire Fleming in 2024.
Head coach Todd Kress led last year’s team to the conference finals, but had eight wins, including the conference semifinal, awarded by forfeit. SJSU previously reached the conference finals under 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 led to 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 season ended.
The controversial 2024 season included eight lost games, regular police protection, national scrutiny and internal turmoil among players and coaches.
Kress previously said the 2024 season was one of the “most difficult” of his life. Kress ranks 21st in NCAA women’s volleyball history in head coaching wins.
“This has been one of the most difficult seasons I have ever experienced, and I know this is also true for many of our players and staff who have been supporting us the entire time. Maintaining our focus on the court and ensuring the safety and overall well-being of my players amid the external noise have been my priorities,” Kress said.
FORMER SJSU STAR BROOKE SLUSSER MAKES NEW ALLEGATIONS REGARDING THE INVESTIGATION OF A TRANS MATE’S ALLEGED PLOT TO HARM HER
Kersten was the coach who recruited Fleming to SJSU as a transfer from Coastal Carolina. Kersten then resigned after the 2022 season and was replaced by Kress.
Former SJSU co-captain Brooke Slusser transferring to SJSU from Alabama in 2023
Then, in September 2024, Slusser joined a lawsuit against the NCAA alleging that SJSU officials withheld knowledge about Fleming’s birth sex from her and other players on the team. Slusser alleged that she was forced to share changing and sleeping spaces with Fleming without 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 lawsuit included testimony from former San Jose State volleyball players Alyssa Sugai and Elle Patterson, alleging 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 toward Fleming over other players, especially Slusser. Batie-Smoose’s complaint also included allegations that Fleming plotted to have Slusser stabbed 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 at East Gym on Oct. 19, 2024, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. (Andrew Wevers/Getty Images)
The school did not renew Batie-Smoose’s contract in late January. The coach then filed her 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 Pak Gazette Digital that SJSU accommodated Fleming with special exceptions that were not granted to female athletes.
“Not showing up to practice without excuses, sitting in the stands eating while practicing, that kind of thing,” Batie-Smoose said of the special exceptions reserved exclusively for Fleming.
Fleming previously responded to Batie-Smoose’s claim and addressed Slusser in a social media exchange with Pak Gazette Digital.
“The only times I went to practice without an excuse and sat in the stands was when I got hurt and couldn’t play. Brooke Slusser and Melissa need to get a life,” Fleming said.
Following 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’ house in Texas to finish the school year remotely and now works as a youth volleyball coach in North Carolina.
Fleming celebrated SJSU’s graduation in a social media post in May.
The University of Nevada, Reno, which was involved in the 2024 controversy for attempting to have its players compete against SJSU and Fleming despite choosing to resign, finished the 2025 season ranked 11th with a record of 8-20, 4-14 in conference play.
