Ex-SJSU volleyball coach alleges a trans player's failed testosterone test was kept secret from the team

Former San Jose State University (SJSU) volleyball coach Melissa Batie-Smoose alleges that a school official told her transgender player Blaire Fleming failed a testosterone test at one point during the 2023 season — and that the result was kept 'secret' from the rest of the team.

In a new interview with OutKick, Batie-Smoose, now the head volleyball coach at Cisco College, claimed SJSU associate athletics director Laura Alexander informed her of Fleming's failed test before the women's volleyball team left for its first conference match.

Batie-Smoose said she was told Fleming had not been showing up for the blood test and had one day left to test before the team travelled. The next day, she says, she was told that after the test the testosterone levels were too high, that Fleming was ineligible to play and would not be going on the trip that day.

The coach added that the alleged failed test was kept 'a secret' from the rest of the team. The allegation also appears in Batie-Smoose's 13 October federal lawsuit against the California State University (CSU) trustees and 11 SJSU employees.

Fleming then missed a long stretch of the 2023 season. SJSU's athletics website, in a November 2023 game recap, said the player had not competed since 16 September of that year 'due to injuries'.

Batie-Smoose said: 'The injury happened the day that Fleming went to go get tested, and it was very questionable.' She believes the injury explanation helped keep the alleged eligibility issue secret — and her lawsuit describes that conclusion as her belief.

The lawsuit states that around the same time the testosterone results were revealed, Fleming missed conference matches because of a reported hand injury, which the plaintiff believes was an excuse to hide ineligibility because of hormone levels. SJSU's own game records confirm Fleming missed matches, but they do not establish whether a testosterone test result played a role in the absence.

In 2023, NCAA rules allowed transgender women to play on women's teams, but they had to meet requirements for hormone treatment and testosterone levels. That policy, known as Phase Two, stayed in place through the 2023-24 school year.

Under that framework, transgender women had to complete at least one year of testosterone suppression treatment before competing on a women's team, and provide blood-test results meeting the NCAA's limit for their sport. For women's volleyball, the Phase Two limit was below 10 nanomoles per litre of total testosterone in the blood. Schools had to certify athletes' eligibility before allowing them to compete, and if an athlete became ineligible, NCAA rules required the school to keep that athlete out of competition immediately.

Importantly, Batie-Smoose's account does not establish that Fleming played while ineligible. Fleming returned in November of that season, having missed 17 matches in all.

SJSU declined to respond to a request for clarification. 'Due to pending litigation, San Jose State is unable to respond to your inquiry,' a university spokesperson told OutKick. OutKick also sought comment from Fleming, the NCAA, the Mountain West and the CSU, but did not receive a response.

Batie-Smoose's allegations extend beyond Fleming's eligibility. She says her relationship with head coach Todd Kress unravelled as their political views grew apart, and accuses him of using her support for Trump to turn players against her. Her lawsuit alleges Kress called her a 'Trump lover'.

Amid that dispute, during the 2024 season, former co-captain Slusser publicly challenged Fleming's participation and several opponents refused to play against SJSU. Batie-Smoose filed a Title IX complaint on 29 October; days later the university placed her on paid leave. On 31 January 2025, SJSU told her it would not renew her temporary appointment. This year, on 4 September, Judge Noël Wise dismissed her second amended complaint in an earlier employment case. Her new federal lawsuit is now the next legal chapter of the controversy.