JD Plumlee, 44, joins the Mustangs after five years at Malvern High School. Among his many accomplishments during his career, Plumlee led the Leopards to a 64-39 4A State Championship victory over Harding Academy in 2022. 

Plumlee began his football career as a player for Lakeside High School before earning a baseball scholarship to attend Arkansas Tech. He has spent 20 years coaching high school and middle school athletics, including nine years as an assistant at Lakeside and as offensive coordinator at Malvern, Harrison and Russellville. While at Russellville, Plumlee led an offense that won the 2016 State Championship. He got his first head coaching job at Fountain Lake and in 2018 was named one of Coach & AD magazine’s 40 Under 40 coaches.

In 2019, Plumlee took over an 0-10 Malvern squad and never failed to make the state playoffs in his five years at the helm. After leading the Leopards to the State Championship in 2022, Plumlee was named the Farm Bureau Coach of the Year. Last year, Malvern finished 8-4 with a loss in the second round of the state playoffs to the eventual 4A state champions. Coach Plumlee and his wife Tiffany have two children: Jackson, 14, and Madison, 12. Plumlee’s first day at Mustang Mountain will be Feb. 1.