The current members of the Central California Conference would stay together under the latest plan hashed out Tuesday in Stockton by the Sac-Joaquin Section realignment committee.

Under the new plan, El Capitan would enter the Western Athletic Conference when the third Merced high school opens this fall.

Modesto Metro Conference would also remain intact and would add Modesto Christian for boys' and girls' basketball. Central Catholic would move from the WAC to the Valley Oak League.

If the committee does not make additional changes to the plan at its next meeting, scheduled for March 12, it will adopt the proposal, then send it to the board of governors for final approval. The plan then would take effect in the 2014-15 school year.

Central Catholic's move to the VOL was added to the plan on Tuesday. The WAC membership recently voted 4-3 to keep the Raiders in the league, but the committee voted 7-2 to move Central into the VOL for all sports.

Orestimba, with programs only occasionally successful in the Trans-Valley League, is headed to the Southern League under the plan, while Ripon Christian's basketball teams, dominant in the Southern League, would be placed in the TVL.

Neither move was discussed on Tuesday, which would indicate the committee's satisfaction with both shifts.

It appears as though the MMC and CCC both would remain Division 1 conferences, although section commissioner Pete Saco said during Tuesday's meetings that such decisions would be made after the approval of the final realignment plan.

The committee decided to pay special attention to the status of Sonora, El Capitan and Davis, placing the three schools on a "watch list" and vowing to revisit their statuses in two years as bylaws allowed.

If Sonora dominates the MLL, as the league's membership fears, it could be moved elsewhere following the 2016-17 school year.

Also, El Capitan could grow too large and/or competitive for the WAC within that time frame, and Davis -- despite the Modesto City Schools' redistricting plans -- may not return to a size of competitive state that would allow the Spartans to remain in the MMC.

Modesto Bee staff writer Brian VanderBeek can be reached at (209) 578-2150 or on Twitter, @modestobeek