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This was always going to be a difficult 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 outperformed expectations, finishing seventh in the Mountain West after having 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 victories, including the conference semifinals, by forfeit. SJSU previously reached 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 U.S. Department of Education and a mass exodus of players. At least seven of the 2024 team’s returning players entered the transfer portal in December after the season ended.
The controversial 2024 season included eight lost matches, regular police protection, national scrutiny and internal unrest between players and coaches.
Kress previously said the 2024 season had been 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 have ever experienced, and I know that is also true for many of our players and staff who have supported us since the beginning. Maintaining our focus on the field and ensuring the safety and general well-being of my players amidst the noise outside have been my priorities,” Kress said.
EX-SJSU STAR BROOKE SLUSSER MAKES NEW ALLEGATIONS ABOUT INVESTIGATION INTO TRANS TEAMMATE’S ALLEGED PLOT TO MOTHER HIM
Kersten was the coach who recruited Fleming to SJSU as a transfer out of Coastal Carolina. Kersten then resigned after the 2022 season and was replaced by Kress.
Brooke Slusser, former SJSU co-captain, transfers to SJSU from Alabama in 2023
Then, in September 2024, Slusser joined a lawsuit against the NCAA, alleging that SJSU officials withheld information 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 due to Fleming’s presence. That trial included testimony from former San Jose State volleyball players Alyssa Sugai and Elle Patterson alleging they were passed over for scholarships to Fleming.
Assistant coach Melissa Batie-Smoose was suspended by the program in early November after filing a Title IX complaint against the university for showing favoritism toward Fleming over other players, particularly 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 for a play during the first set against the Air Force Falcons at Falcon Court at East Gym on October 19, 2024, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. (Andrew Wevers/Getty Images)
Batie-Smoose’s contract was not renewed by the school in late January. The coach then filed his own lawsuit against the California State University (CSU) system board of trustees. SJSU is one of 23 California schools that are part of the system.
Batie-Smoose told PK Press Club Digital that SJSU granted Fleming special exceptions that were not given to female athletes.
“Not showing up to practice without excuses, sitting in the stands eating during practice, that type 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 PK Press Club Digital.
“The only times I showed up to practice unapologetically and sat in the stands was when I was injured and couldn’t play. Brooke Slusser and Melissa need to live,” Fleming said.
After the 2024 volleyball season, Slusser fled SJSU after frequent alleged harassment and threats from other students in response to his statements against Fleming and the program the previous fall. She returned to her parents in Texas to finish the school year remotely and now works as a youth volleyball coach in North Carolina.
Fleming celebrated his graduation from SJSU in a social media post in May.
The University of Nevada, Reno, which was embroiled in the 2024 controversy for trying to have its players compete against SJSU and Fleming when it preferred to forfeit, finished the 2025 season in 11th place with an 8-20 record, 4-14 in conference play.
