San Jose State Volleyball: A Season After Controversy
In a challenging follow-up to one of the most tumultuous periods in collegiate volleyball, San Jose State University’s women’s volleyball team concluded their 2025 season with a 13-16 overall record (8-10 in conference play), missing the Mountain West Tournament after a final loss to UNLV. Despite falling short of tournament qualification, the team exceeded expectations, finishing seventh in the Mountain West after being projected to place 11th in the preseason coaches’ poll. This relative success came in the wake of a 2024 season marked by unprecedented controversy involving transgender athlete Blaire Fleming, which had resulted in forfeited matches, legal battles, and national attention.
The program’s recent history has been a roller coaster of achievement and turmoil. Under previous coach Trent Kersten, who recruited Fleming from Coastal Carolina, the team reached the conference final in 2022 – Fleming’s first year with the Spartans. After Kersten stepped down, Todd Kress took over as head coach. While Kress guided the 2024 team to a conference final appearance, this accomplishment came with an asterisk, as eight of their wins (including the conference semifinal) were awarded via forfeit due to opponents refusing to play against a team with a transgender athlete. The controversy divided the volleyball community and led to significant consequences, including the transfer of at least seven returning players who entered the transfer portal in December 2024 after the season concluded.
The Fleming controversy erupted fully when former SJSU co-captain Brooke Slusser, who had transferred from Alabama in 2023, joined a lawsuit against the NCAA in September 2024. Slusser alleged that SJSU officials had withheld knowledge about Fleming’s biological sex, claiming she was made to share changing and sleeping spaces with Fleming without proper disclosure. This initial legal action was followed by another lawsuit in November 2024, filed by Slusser and several other Mountain West players against the conference and San Jose State. This second lawsuit included testimony from former players Alyssa Sugai and Elle Patterson, who alleged they were passed over for scholarships in favor of Fleming, adding another dimension to the already complex situation.
The controversy extended beyond the players when assistant coach Melissa Batie-Smoose was suspended in early November 2024 after filing a Title IX complaint against the university. Batie-Smoose alleged the program showed favoritism toward Fleming over other players, particularly Slusser, and made the explosive claim that Fleming had plotted to have Slusser “spiked in the face.” In January, Batie-Smoose’s contract was not renewed, prompting her to file her own lawsuit against the California State University system’s Board of Trustees. In interviews, Batie-Smoose alleged that Fleming received special treatment not afforded to female athletes, including being excused from practices without explanation and being allowed to sit in the stands eating while practice was underway. Fleming responded to these allegations on social media, claiming the only times she missed practice were due to injuries and suggesting that Slusser and Batie-Smoose “need to get a life.”
The fallout from the controversy affected individuals beyond just the volleyball court. Slusser reportedly fled SJSU after experiencing harassment and threats from other students in response to her speaking out against Fleming and the program. She completed her schoolwork remotely from her parents’ home in Texas and has since relocated to North Carolina, where she works as a youth volleyball coach. Meanwhile, Fleming celebrated graduation from SJSU in May 2025, marking the end of her collegiate athletic career. The controversy’s impact extended to other schools as well, with the University of Nevada, Reno – which had been involved in the 2024 controversy when it attempted to have its players compete against SJSU despite preferring to forfeit – finishing the 2025 season in 11th place with an 8-20 record.
Head coach Todd Kress, who ranks 21st in NCAA women’s volleyball history in career wins, reflected on the challenge of the previous season, calling it “one of the most difficult” of his life. “This has been one of the most difficult seasons I’ve ever experienced, and I know this is true as well for many of our players and the staff who have been supporting us all along,” Kress had stated. “Maintaining our focus on the court and ensuring the overall safety and well-being of my players amid the external noise have been my priorities.” As San Jose State’s volleyball program moves forward from this chapter, it does so having navigated unprecedented terrain in collegiate athletics, where questions about inclusion, fairness, and transparency continue to shape discussions about transgender participation in women’s sports – a conversation that extends far beyond the volleyball court at SJSU.
