1996 MLS Inaugural Draft: Mark Chung and the Kansas City Wiz’s first-ever pick

“And with the sixth pick in the 1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft, the Kansas City Wiz select midfielder Mark Chung.”

In 1996, the Wiz debuted as one of Major League Soccer’s original franchises. Kansas City was an ideal city for an MLS franchise. It was home of the Hunt family’s Kansas City Chiefs, and the club gave MLS a team in the center of the country, bridging the gap between the east coast and west.

MLS had just 10 teams in its debut season — a far cry from the 30 clubs that make up the league today. It was a small league, with a small fanbase in the early years. 

Prior to kicking off the season, MLS held its inaugural player draft. At the time, the draft was essential. It helped distribute collegiate talent and players from abroad across the league. 

Today, the draft is more of an afterthought, with clubs relying on academies and global scouting networks. Yet, the draft, which still occurs each offseason, was vital to the league and over the years would be marketed as such. 

Who was Mark Chung?

The Wiz’s first-ever draft pick, Mark Chung, arrived from the San Diego Sockers. Once a powerhouse of the old North American Soccer League, the Sockers were, by 1995, an indoor soccer team.

Indoor soccer was a crucial pathway for many American and Canadian players in the late 1980s and early 1990s. MLS gave Chung and many others the opportunity to transition to the full 11-a-side professional game in North America.

Chung wasted little time making his mark in Kansas City. He played 32 matches for the Wiz in 1996, scoring eight goals and adding nine assists. It was a standout debut season for the 24-year-old midfielder.

Now rebranded as the Wizards, Chung elevated his game further in 1997, scoring 10 goals and contributing eight assists. A year later, in his final season with Kansas City, he added two goals and eight assists, continuing to be a consistent creative force. Chung was an MLS All-Star and an MLS Best XI selection in 1997 while a member of the Wizards. 

A trade that shaped history

Ahead of the 1999 MLS season, Kansas City traded Chung to the New York/New Jersey MetroStars. In return, the Wizards received Alex Lalas and Tony Meola.

That deal proved significant. Meola would go on to help lead the Wizards to their first MLS Cup trophy, linking Chung’s departure indirectly to one of the club’s greatest achievements.

Chung finished his MLS career in 2005, with additional stops at the Colorado Rapids and San Jose Earthquakes. Over 284 MLS appearances, he scored 61 goals and recorded 76 assists — impressive numbers in the league’s early years.

The midfielder also earned 24 caps for the U.S. Men’s National Team. While that total may not fully reflect his influence at the club level, Chung was undeniably one of MLS’s early standout players.

Today, he represents a generation that helped build the league. As MLS has grown, players like Chung have, in some ways, faded from memory. But his role as the Kansas City Wiz’s first-ever draft pick, and his impact on those early teams remains an important part of the club’s history.