2000 Ching missed three matches with an injury but still scored 8 goals and recorded 22 points. He was named All-WCC first team and earned All-Far West Region first-team honors. Ching finished his Gonzaga career with 34 goals, which still ties him third on the all-time GU list, and his 23 assists are a Gonzaga career record. Ching's 91 career points are still tied for second on the Gonzaga charts. With Ching, the Bulldogs were back-to-back co-champions of the West Coast Conference in 1997 and 1998. Ching majored in accounting. Club career Los Angeles Galaxy (2001) and Seattle Sounders (2001–2002) Ching began his professional career when the Los Angeles Galaxy drafted him as the 16th overall pick of the 2001 MLS SuperDraft. Los Angeles chose midfielder Brian Mullan and forward Isaias Bardales Jr. in the first round, 9th and 11th respectively, before picking Ching with their fourth pick in the second round. Ching was the first ever Hawaiian selected in the MLS draft. Ching joined a roster that included U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame players Cobi Jones, Alexi Lalas, and Paul Caligiuri, Mexico's top World Cup scorer Luis Hernández, Mauricio Cienfuegos, Ezra Hendrickson, Danny Califf, Kevin Hartman and was coached by Sigi Schmid. Ching wore the number 9 jersey with Los Angeles. Ching made his MLS debut against San Jose on April 7, 2001, as a member of the starting lineup. During the 2001 season, Ching appeared in 8 games (starting one) and recorded one goal and one assist. Ching started and played the full match in his U.S. Open Cup debut, a 5–0 victory over the Nashville Metros at Titan Stadium on June 27, 2001, in the second round. Ching went full ninety again in Los Angeles' 3–1 victory over the Seattle Sounders Select where he provided the assist to Isaias Bardales' 81st-minute goal, the Galaxy's third of the match. Those would be Ching's only appearances in the 2001 tournament as the Los Angeles Galaxy went on to win their first U.S. Open Cup trophy in franchise history. Ching made his MLS Cup Playoffs debut in a 4–1 loss in game 2 of the quarterfinals against the New York-New Jersey MetroStars on September 27, 2001, after coming on as an 88th minute substitution for Cobi Jones. Ching appeared for a second time in the playoffs in the Galaxy's 1–0 overtime win in game 2 of the MLS semifinal series