SJSU volleyball team fails to make conference tournament in first season after trans athlete scandal

It was ever going to beryllium a pugnacious enactment to follow.

San Jose State University's volleyball squad was eliminated from making the Mountain West Tournament with a nonaccomplishment Saturday to University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and finished the play nether .500 with a 13-16 wide grounds and 8-10 successful league play. 

SJSU outperformed expectations, finishing seventh successful the Mountain West aft being expected to decorativeness 11th successful the conference's preseason coaches canvass aft a contention involving trans jock Blaire Fleming successful 2024. 

Head manager Todd Kress led past year's squad to the league last but had 8 wins, including the league semifinal, awarded via forfeit. SJSU antecedently made the league last with Fleming successful 2022, the trans athlete's archetypal twelvemonth with the Spartans nether erstwhile caput manager Trent Kersten. 

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The contention involving Fleming resulted successful 2 lawsuits during the 2024 season, a national probe by the U.S. Department of Education and a wide exodus of players. At slightest 7 of the team's returning players from 2024 entered the transportation portal successful December aft the play ended.

The arguable 2024 play included 8 forfeited matches, regular constabulary protection, nationalist scrutiny and interior turmoil betwixt players and coaches.

Kress antecedently said the 2024 play was 1 of the "most difficult" of his life. Kress is 21st successful NCAA women's volleyball past successful wins arsenic a caput coach.

"This has been 1 of the astir hard seasons I’ve ever experienced, and I cognize this is existent arsenic good for galore of our players and the unit who person been supporting america each along. Maintaining our absorption connected the tribunal and ensuring the wide information and well-being of my players amid the outer sound person been my priorities," Kress said.

EX-SJSU STAR BROOKE SLUSSER MAKES NEW ALLEGATIONS ABOUT PROBE INTO TRANS TEAMMATE'S ALLEGED PLOT TO HARM HER

Kersten was the manager who recruited Fleming to SJSU arsenic a transportation retired of Coastal Carolina. Kersten past stepped down aft the 2022 play and was replaced by Kress. 

Former SJSU co-captain Brooke Slusser transferred to SJSU from Alabama successful 2023 

Then, successful September 2024, Slusser joined a suit against the NCAA alleging SJSU officials withheld cognition astir Fleming's commencement sex from her and different players connected the team. Slusser alleged she was made to stock changing and sleeping spaces with Fleming without knowing that Fleming was a biologic male. 

Slusser, on with respective different players successful the Mountain West, filed a abstracted suit against the league and San Jose State successful November 2024 implicit Fleming's presence. That suit included grounds from erstwhile San Jose State volleyball players Alyssa Sugai and Elle Patterson alleging they were passed implicit for scholarships successful favour of Fleming. 

Assistant manager Melissa Batie-Smoose was suspended by the programme successful aboriginal November aft she filed a Title IX ailment against the assemblage for showing favoritism toward Fleming implicit the different players, particularly Slusser. Batie-Smoose's ailment besides included allegations of Fleming's crippled to person Slusser spiked successful the face.

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Brooke Slusser (10) and Blaire Fleming (3) of the San Jose State Spartans telephone a play during the archetypal acceptable against the Air Force Falcons astatine Falcon Court astatine East Gym Oct. 19, 2024, successful Colorado Springs, Colo. (Andrew Wevers/Getty Images)

Batie-Smoose's declaration was not renewed by the schoolhouse astatine the extremity of January. The manager past filed her ain suit against the Board of Trustees of the California State University (CSU) system. SJSU is 1 of 23 California-based schools that are portion of the system. 

Batie-Smoose told Fox News Digital that SJSU accommodated Fleming with peculiar exceptions that were not granted to pistillate athletes.

"Not showing up to signifier with nary excuses, sitting successful the stands eating portion signifier was going on, those benignant of things," Batie-Smoose said of the peculiar exceptions reserved exclusively for Fleming. 

Fleming antecedently responded to Batie-Smoose's assertion and addressed Slusser successful a societal media speech with Fox News Digital. 

"The lone times I showed up to signifier with ‘no excuse’ and sat successful the stands was erstwhile I was injured and couldn’t play. Brooke Slusser and Melissa request to get a life," Fleming said. 

After the 2024 volleyball season, Slusser fled SJSU aft predominant alleged harassment and threats by different students successful effect to her speaking retired against Fleming and the programme the erstwhile fall. She returned to her parents' location successful Texas to decorativeness the schoolhouse twelvemonth remotely and is present moving arsenic a younker volleyball manager successful North Carolina. 

Fleming celebrated graduation from SJSU successful a societal media station successful May. 

The University of Nevada, Reno, which was progressive successful the 2024 contention for trying to person its players vie against SJSU and Fleming contempt preferring to forfeit, finished the 2025 play successful 11th spot with an 8-20 record, 4-14 successful league play. 

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